To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for passports were found to be supported by birth certificates which claimed to but did not relate to the applicant in each of the last five years. (281933)

From 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2009 IPS records indicate that there were 492 applications identified in which an impostor used the genuine birth certificate of another person to support a passport application.

This breaks down as follows:

In addition, for the same period IPS records indicate that 258 instances were identified in which a passport application was supported by a forged, counterfeit or stolen blank birth certificate.

This breaks down as follows:

These figures do not constitute part of National Statistics as they are based on internal management information. The information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, should be treated as provisional and is subject to change.