Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, in relation to the new passport contract, whether the estimated figures supplied by Lord Naseby to the Prime Minister's Office, demonstrating a net loss of approximately £36 million rather than a saving of £120 million, were considered or evaluated.

We do not agree with any suggestion that the new passport contract will generate a net loss.

The new passport contract is worth approximately £260 million. This is considerably lower than the current contract that was valued at £400 million when it was awarded in 2009.