asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many British passports have been reported lost or stolen in the past five years; and in how many cases the passport holder has previously reported the loss or theft of a passport.[HL7266]

The Identity and Passport Service processed the following reports of (a) loss, (b) theft and (c) other, of a passport in each of the past five calendar years:

2001 - 148,230 combined total

2002 - 166,358 combined total

2003 - 184,301 combined total

2004 - 275,040 Lost 212,745 Stolen 50,737 Other* 11,558

2005 - 286,988 Lost 230,011 Stolen 45,709 Other* 11,268

Current figures for 2006:

2006 - 165,495 Lost 136,765 Stolen 22,133 Other* 6,597

IPS does not routinely collate the information in relation to “how many cases the passport holder has previously reported the loss or theft of a passport”.* “Other” includes passports reported as damaged or destroyed.