Oral Answers to Questions

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Wednesday 8th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend, who, among his many other distinctions, is my Member of Parliament, and I join him in thanking the entire team at the Princes Centre for everything that they do. I will certainly keep his kind invitation in mind.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

Q9. I would have more sympathy with the words “get on with the job” if it had actually started in the first place. Two weeks ago, the Prime Minister told the House: “To the best of my knowledge, everybody is getting their passport within four to six weeks .”—[Official Report, 25 May 2022; Vol. 715, c. 287-288.]However, the Passport Office is currently quoting a 10-week service time, and many of my constituents are waiting considerably longer than that. Cancelled summer trips could cost families more than £1 billion. Does the Prime Minister accept that the Passport Office’s backlog is placing additional pressure on families who are already struggling with the cost of living crisis?

[The Prime Minister]

Actually, I can tell the hon. Gentleman that 91% of people are getting their passports within six weeks, and we are putting hundreds and hundreds more staff members into the Passport Office. The strength of demand, by the way, is a sign of the robustness of the economy, because everybody is wanting to go on holiday, and quite right too.

When it comes to travel chaos, may I ask whether we have yet heard any condemnation from the Opposition of the RMT and its reckless and wanton strike? What about that?