Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2022 to Question 14463 on Visas: Ukraine, if she will make an assessment of whether TLS has met the terms of the service level agreement (SLA) in the last 12 months; whether cases raised by hon. Members on (a) errors and (b) delays are recorded as breaches of the SLA; whether her Department has taken recent steps to help tackle delays in the processing of applications at TLS; and if she will make a statement.

This year, TLS’ overall performance of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) is good, with the year average for the key Critical Service Levels (CSLs), appointment availability, turnaround times and biometric capture, all within SLA.

We hold Monthly Performance Calls with TLS to assess their performance in line with SLA within the contract. This will include any errors and delays that are highlighted during the monthly reporting cycle. When we are advised of any errors and delays, these are substantiated and recorded against the contractual SLAs.

If TLS are found to be in breach of the SLA, a financial service credit will apply and remedial action taken. As noted, TLS are currently meeting the key CSLs which may impact on delays, and we continue to work with them to ensure there are sufficient appointments and services available to customers