Contributions
1,459 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogI will happily take an intervention from the hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson).14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogThank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for helping to advise the Chamber, as always. I have heard mutters about my taking interventions from friends, but anyone who has been in the…14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogThe failure of the telephone line means that constituents have waited longer than they should have done. There have also been difficulties in receiving prompt updates to inquiries…14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogFirst, the constituent made the right choice by contacting his Member of Parliament, who I know will raise his case diligently. We will certainly be interested to hear the…14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogI will take an intervention from the SNP.14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogThere is, though, one area of the service that we recognise as being not up to standard: the advice line. Teleperformance, which operates the passport advice line, has not…14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogI thank my hon. Friend; the team who dealt with the application will greatly appreciate her giving that example.14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogI turn to priority services, for which appointments are released three weeks in advance. Although appointments are released daily, there is currently high demand, so we are…14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogThe simple answer is that, yes, more staff are being recruited but I will address that in more detail later.14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogThat intervention serves as a reminder of the effectiveness delivered by my hon. Friend and the wise choice Telford residents made at recent general elections in electing such a…14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogThe hon. Gentleman has already intervened once so I will continue. HM Passport Office endeavours to process all applications as quickly as possible. The simplest of applications…14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogI think it is safe to say that the vast majority of Passport Office staff have been back in the office for some time; indeed, as I have touched on, some of them have been in the…14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogI will now give way again, as promised, this time to my colleague from Bournemouth, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood).14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogIf the application has been outstanding for over 10 weeks and travel has been booked, we can expedite the process, as I will come on to later in my speech. It is not appropriate…14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogI will give way first to the hon. Member for St Albans (Daisy Cooper) and then come to those on my own Benches.14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogIn a moment. Across March, April and May 98.5% of the applications processed were completed within the 10-week standard and, even against the backdrop of such large demand, most…14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogNot at the moment. In April 2021, guidance was therefore changed to clearly advise customers to allow up to 10 weeks to get their passport, despite the comment made during the…14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogWe continue to work through a large number of applications. As said, we advise customers to allow up to 10 weeks; however, the vast majority are dealt with well before that, with…14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogI will give way one final time and then make some progress.14 Jun 2022HANSARDHM Passport Office BacklogI join the hon. Member in paying tribute to the staff at the Belfast passport office, who are working hard and delivering a strong service. I am pleased to hear about the…14 Jun 2022