Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda and Ogmore)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will increase levels of staffing on UKVI passport hotline following the widespread delays experienced by customers.
Answered by Kevin Foster
HM Passport Office staff have been deployed to support MP Account Management staff, and answer passport-related enquiries to the Home Office’s dedicated MP’s hotline. For the most urgent cases, HM Passport Office staff are also available to conduct in-person passport surgeries at Portcullis House.
We have seen a significant increase in call volumes to the MP enquiry line in recent weeks linked to passport applications situation and the Ukraine situation.
As a result of this we have worked to increase staffing across the MP enquiry line, but more specifically on the HMPO and Ukraine options. We now have up to 25 dedicated HMPO staff available to take calls currently. Additionally we have up to 20 dedicated Ukraine call handlers who will be ready to take calls in the coming days. This will mean from next week there will 4 times more staff operating the enquiry line compared to the beginning of May.
MPs also can contact the Home Office via the MPs Urgent Enquiries inbox or in person at the Portcullis House walk-in hub.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda and Ogmore)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to increase staffing levels on the dedicated advice line for hon. Members at UK Visas and Immigration in the context of widespread delays experienced by customers.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We have seen significant increase in call volumes to the MP enquiry line in recent weeks linked to the situation in Ukraine and to passport applications.
As a result of this we have worked to increase staffing across the MP enquiry line, but more specifically on the HMPO and Ukraine options. We expect to have up to 25 dedicated HMPO and up to 20 dedicated Ukraine call handlers available to take calls.
MP’s can also contact the Home Office via the MP’s Urgent Enquiries inbox or in person at the Portcullis House walk-in hub.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda and Ogmore)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to improve the time taken to process passport applications.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Ahead of unrestricted international travel returning, HM Passport Office prepared extensively to serve an unprecedented number of customers, with 9.5 million British passport applications forecasted throughout 2022.
These preparations have ensured that passport applications can be processed in higher numbers than ever before. This was demonstrated in March and April 2022 when HM Passport Office achieved a record monthly high by completing the processing of approximately two million applications.
Ministers continue to meet regularly with officials to monitor performance, and to explore further options that will help to ensure that people receive their passports in good time.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda and Ogmore)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that her Department processes passport applications on time and resolves delays as swiftly as possible.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Due to COVID-19, over 5 million people delayed applying for a British passport in 2020 and 2021.
In March 2022 HM Passport Office decided over one million passport applications, the highest recorded in any month to date.
Since April 2021 British passport applicants have been advised to allow up to ten weeks to get their passport. However, HM Passport Office seeks to ensure its customers receive their passport as quickly as possible and is working alongside its suppliers to develop further ways to maximise its ability to cope with an unprecedented level of demand.
HM Passport Office has already deployed a range of tried and tested contingency arrangements, which includes the increasing of resources through recruitment and enabling the flexing of resources from across the Home Office and other government departments.
In addition, technical solutions, such as its latest digital application system, mean more passport applications are securely processed with fewer manual interventions, enabling them to be processed more quickly.