To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many departmental identity cards or departmental passes have been reported lost or stolen by staff in (a) his Department and (b) each of its executive agencies in the last 24 months.

The arrangements for the issue and management of identity passes that give access to the Department's premises have been outsourced to a service provider. The Department and its agencies operate from several hundred premises across the UK, and no central records are held by the service provider or the Department of the numbers of passes which are reported lost or stolen, and it would be disproportionately expensive to obtain this information. Employees are required to report all lost or stolen passes to the Department immediately, and to the police where appropriate, so that local management can determine any increased vulnerability to security, and take the necessary action.