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19 July 2006 : Column 557W—continued

Passport Fraud

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to combat passport fraud; and if he will make a statement. [84849]

Joan Ryan [holding answer 17 July 2006]: The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) is engaged in a range of initiatives designed to enhance the security of the passport issuing process and the UK passport itself. Because of the nature of fraud and the way in which criminals operate in seeking to obtain passports illegally, IPS takes a holistic approach to enhancing security. The initiatives which are under way are therefore designed to ensure that each part of the passport operation contributes to the security of the whole system and ensures the integrity of the UK passport.

The IPS corporate and business plan for 2006-16 which was published on 21 April 2006 describes these initiatives and sets out its strategic objectives for fraud prevention. This programme of work includes:-


19 July 2006 : Column 558W

Data sharing and the positive validation of passport data is critical to the fight against fraud. The IPS has developed Omnibase which provides secure web access to passport information for FCO consular posts abroad, UK’s Border Control authorities, The Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency, Criminal Records Bureau and other Government Departments. From July of this year, and building on successful pilots, IPS plan to extend this passport validation service (PVS) to financial institutions who receive passports as evidence of identity from customers opening bank accounts, seeking mortgages or undertaking other financial transactions. The pilots have already shown that PVS can support users in the identification of suspicious passports and prevent fraud.

Finally, supported by the powers in section 25 of the Identity Cards Act that target the misuse of identity documents, IPS is continuing to work closely with the police service, UK Border Control and other Government Departments in operations to tackle fraud.

Police

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will visit Monkmoor police station in Shrewsbury to meet local police officers. [58157]

Mr. McNulty: I will be very happy to consider such an invitation from any police force.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the running cost was of each police force in England and Wales in each of the last three financial years; and what the estimated running costs are of each of the new proposed police forces in the next three financial years. [73281]

Mr. McNulty: Estimated net expenditure by police authority in each of the last three years is set out in the table.

Budget management for each police authority area is a matter for the authority and the chief officer, who are responsible for prioritising local needs.


19 July 2006 : Column 559W

19 July 2006 : Column 560W
£000
Police authority Net expenditure 2003-04 Net expenditure 2004-05 Estimated net expenditure 2005-06

Avon and Somerset

215,885

228,655

240,632

Bedfordshire

78,229

83,055

87,283

Cambridgeshire

99,149

105,303

112,674

Cheshire

135,182

142,258

148,604

Cleveland

103,727

109,579

114,811

Cumbria

79,741

85,600

89,115

Derbyshire

132,870

139,839

145,884

Devon and Cornwall

220,160

233,170

243,711

Dorset

95,565

101,678

106,977

Durham

95,729

100,664

105,403

Essex

212,756

222,081

232,229

Gloucestershire

86,850

92,024

95,928

Hampshire(1)

247,623

261,512

268,094

Hertfordshire

143,155

152,728

159,458

Humberside

141,993

150,592

156,909

Kent

233,060

245,810

256,520

Lancashire

216,769

228,935

240,365

Leicestershire

130,089

138,065

146,276

Lincolnshire

81,127

85,105

89,864

Norfolk

113,530

121,310

126,989

Northamptonshire

93,601

100,915

110,200

North Yorkshire

114,454

121,967

126,166

Nottinghamshire

158,152

165,744

173,367

Staffordshire

149,082

157,082

163,905

Suffolk

89,658

94,624

98,863

Surrey

159,159

168,401

165,407

Sussex

211,157

221,619

231,282

Thames Valley

292,370

311,518

325,214

Warwickshire

70,288

73,890

77,200

West Mercia

154,505

165,838

172,791

Wiltshire

83,784

88,292

92,612

Total Shires

4,439,399

4,697,853

4,904,733

Greater Manchester

450,871

468,880

493,914

Merseyside

282,861

294,835

307,130

Northumbria

241,230

249,810

262,015

South Yorkshire

207,210

216,571

225,363

West Midlands

441,200

460,600

490,960

West Yorkshire

345,577

363,701

382,975

Total Mets

1,968,949

2,054,397

2,162,357

Total England (exc London)

6,408348

6,752,250

7,067,090

Metropolitan

2,430,765

2,583,401

2,488,300

City of London

71,338

72,803

75,756

Total England (inc London)

8,910,451

9,408,454

9,631,146

Dyfed-Powys

72,002

77,007

80,277

Gwent

91,973

98,190

102,311

North Wales

104,640

115,243

120,479

South Wales

205,752

216,620

227,435

Total Wales

474,367

507,060

530,502

Total England and Wales

9,384,818

9,915,514

10,161,648

(1) Figure for Hampshire in 2005-06 was unavailable and has been based by CIPFA on previous trends.
Source:
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Police statistics—2003-04 and 2004-05 Actuals; 2005-06 Estimates)

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