Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have applied for passports using the (a) fast track and (b) premium service in the last month; and how many recent passport applications will receive compensation from her Department.

In June 2014, (a) 59, 692 people applied and paid for fast track and (b) 31,
289 applied for premium service. Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) only
normally offer compensation for financial loss as a result of delays in their guaranteed
(Fast Track and Premium) services. HMPO does not have an estimate of how much
compensation may be paid this year in line with their policy. As the Home
Secretary announced on 12 June 2014, customers who need to travel within 7 days and who
have waited more than the three weeks service standard for a straightforward application to
be processed through no fault of their own, are fast-tracked free of charge.
To 15 July, HMPO has issued 13, 461 passports as a result of this change of
policy.