Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for passport applications through (a) fast-tracking regular applications, (b) minimising application review times and (c) processing refunds; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing passport applications to be cancelled online.

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.

Since April 2021, people have been advised to allow up to ten weeks to get their passport. However, HMPO has introduced a range of contingency measures, including technical improvements, and bolstering its resources. This has helped to deliver record output, with the processing of nearly two million applications being completed between March and April 2022.

Refunds are actioned as quickly as able once we have all necessary documentation.

There are currently no plans for introducing online cancellation of applications. Passport fees are set to cover the cost of administering the application and are therefore not routinely refunded when an application is withdrawn.