Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, in relation to the new passport contract, when the original statement of the £120 million saving was made; and whether that figure included the anticipated adverse impact arising from the loss of UK taxes and increased costs from probable unemployment.

There is no requirement for large scale procurements to assess tax revenue impacts, other than to ensure bidders are tax compliant.

The new contract for design, manufacture and personalisation of the UK passport is worth approximately £260 million. This will deliver significant savings to passport customers and the UK tax payer when compared to the £400 million contract that was awarded in 2009.

The incumbent will continue to provide these passport services for at least another 18 months, and have publicly stated that they will bid for other work to help protect jobs after the current passport contract ends. Gemalto has also stated it expects to create up to 70 jobs in the UK across two locations.