Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the information available to call handlers supporting individuals looking for application updates via telephony services at HM Passport Office.
All Passport Adviceline call handlers have some access to passport application information, and customers can be transferred where more in-depth advice is needed.
We continue to work with our supplier to increase the number of call handlers who are dedicated to the Passport Adviceline and have the necessary access to passport application systems. This will help to ensure calls can be transferred in greater volumes, so more complex passport queries can continue to be answered in good time during periods of high customer contact.