To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the impact of her Department’s practice of holding passports in files for periods of time on the owners of those passports. (152628)

Passports are required to establish the identity and status of the applicant and so that the immigration decision can be securely placed into the document. Every effort is made to make decisions accurately and speedily. Applicants who require their documents back urgently will be treated sympathetically. Applicants making a straight-forward application who do not wish to be without their documents can use our same day premium service available at Public Enquiry Offices.

Under section 17 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004, documents may be retained where it is suspected that the person to whom the document relates is liable to be removed from the United Kingdom. The document may be retained to facilitate their removal—a necessary requirement for effective immigration control.