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HM Passport Office Backlogs
12 May 2022
Lead MP
Tom Pursglove
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
EmploymentLocal Government
Other Contributors: 15
At a Glance
Tom Pursglove raised concerns about hm passport office backlogs in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
Due to the impact of COVID-19, over 5 million people delayed their passport applications in 2020 and 2021. As travel demand returned, Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) received a record number of 9.5 million passport applications in 2022 compared to approximately 7 million in a normal year. To address this surge, HMPO has hired 500 new staff since April 2021 and plans to hire an additional 700 by summer. As a result, more than 90% of passport applications are processed within six weeks and less than 1.4% take longer than ten weeks. However, the minister acknowledged issues with customer service through Teleperformance and committed to improving their performance. HMPO staff have been deployed to answer inquiries on behalf of MPs and will conduct in-person passport surgeries for urgent cases. The minister emphasised that despite these challenges, HMPO is processing applications at a record pace.
Nick Smith
Lab
Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney
Question
Smith raised constituent complaints about long waits on phone lines and in offices, noting that people are losing holidays due to passport delays. He questioned the value-for-money of the Home Office’s £77 million contract with TNT and asked for details on the actual backlog size and when HMPO's 10-week timeframe will be reduced to three weeks.
Minister reply
The minister acknowledged Smith's concerns, confirming that an expedited service is available for those whose applications have been in the system for more than ten weeks. He also noted that between March and April 2022, HMPO completed processing nearly two million passport applications with over 90% issued within six weeks.
Christchurch
Question
Chope asked about the number of staff still working from home and expanded on the issue of the ten-week limit, questioning why people who do not get their passports within this timeframe should have to pay a premium. He also raised concerns that people are now applying for new passports three or four months ahead, thereby adding to the burden on HMPO.
Minister reply
The minister stated that staff arrangements follow Government guidelines and noted that 98.6% of passports are renewed within ten weeks. There is an expedited process available after this timeframe if required.
Stephen Kinnock
Lab
Aberavon Maesteg
Question
The chaos at the Passport Office reflects wider Home Office failures. The Government had two years to prepare but failed to act quickly enough despite repeated warnings about potential backlog issues. He inquires how many agency staff are now working on clearing the backlog and whether the 10-week target still applies, given its frequent misses. Stephen also mentions cases of constituents who faced difficulties due to delays and questions if the Home Office will renew TNT’s contract when it expires in July.
Minister reply
The 10-week timeframe is not guaranteed but an expedited process is available beyond that period. Staff numbers have increased by over 500 since April last year, with a further recruitment of 700 planned. The number of staff in passport production roles was over 4,000 as of 1 April. Regarding the TNT contract and other contracts, specific details will not be disclosed but it is right to have candid conversations about performance against contracts. Teleperformance, which provides the advice line, plans to add over 500 full-time equivalents by mid-June.
Mark Fletcher
Con
Aldridge-Brownhills
Question
Asks for a dedicated hotline on passport matters due to issues with the current general Home Office hotline where staff are often informed they have dialled an incorrect number, causing delays and inconvenience.
Minister reply
Confirms that there will be access at Portcullis House hub for live updates from the system.
Stuart McDonald
SNP
Cumbernauld Kilsyth
Question
Questions if Home Secretary understands the scale of the problem and why it took until April to warn the public. Also asks about phone charges and seeks reassurance that the home office is handling high numbers but not sufficient for demand.
Minister reply
Calls are charged at local rate, after 10 weeks of proof of travel, within two weeks upgrades are free if required. After 10 weeks, more than 98% of passports renewed within timeframe and over 90% processed in six weeks. Efforts to improve service continue.
Andrew Jones
Con
Harrogate and Knaresborough
Question
Encouraged by recruitment taking place at the Passport Office and 1 million passport applications completed in March alone, but asks about progress with that recruitment.
Minister reply
Recruitment will happen as quickly as possible to address capacity issues.
Chris Elmore
Lab
Bridgend
Question
Thanks for urgent question and raises specific case of a child name change application waiting since February, calls热线相关问题，希望部长能够提供保证并迅速处理该案例。
Minister reply
如果他提供详细信息，我将优先处理此案件。对于议员热线，增加非运营HMPO工作人员以帮助为议员提供更快的服务，此外还可以使用Portcullis House服务。
Jacob Young
Con
N/A
Question
A few colleagues have already mentioned our caseworkers in our constituencies. I want to put on record my thanks to my caseworker team, especially Niall Hargreaves who spent nine hours on the phone to the Passport Office last week and did not manage to get through all day. Can he provide any clarity on when we expect the new recruits to start having an effect on the backlog?
Minister reply
I join my hon. Friend in saying thank you to parliamentary staff who work for Members across the House. I can certainly appreciate the frustration they have felt when not being able to make contact or when calls have been disconnected. We expect 500 full-time equivalents added to Teleperformance resourcing by mid-June. The Passport Office is increasing staffing by 700 by the summer and, of course, there have already been 500 additional staff since last April.
Battersea
Question
Dozens of my constituents are now facing huge delays in getting their passports. In one case, a constituent's passport was lost and the application was expedited but it is still not processed despite multiple chases for updates. Will the Minister agree to look at this specific case and see if we can get a resolution as soon as possible?
Minister reply
We do encourage people, as standard, to apply in good time for passports to be processed and to be available. The point I again make is that after 10 weeks of proof of travel, within two weeks the upgrade is free, but if the hon. Lady could provide me with the details of the specific case in question I will happily make sure it is looked at as quickly as possible for her.
Barry Gardiner
Lab
Brent West
Question
This is not just an issue of people wanting to go on holiday. In my constituency, people have families all across the world whom they have not seen since the pandemic. An elderly couple applied before Christmas but missed a niece’s wedding and a sister’s funeral due to delays. The Minister said that 500 new staff were in place and 700 are coming, but what we really want to know is when will the Department be able to return to the three-week standard time that we all expected previously?
Minister reply
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for putting his case forcefully but entirely respectfully. When there are compassionate or compelling circumstances, steps can be taken to expedite applications where appropriate. On the three-week target, I will ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Kevin Foster), to write to the hon. Gentleman to set out the position.
Layla Moran
Lib Dem
Oxford West and Abingdon
Question
A new mother wanted to register her daughter for a passport immediately after birth due to family support in Egypt. She is having difficulties finding a fast-track application and has been up all day and night trying to get it done. Will he assure people that a common-sense approach will be taken in cases such as these?
Minister reply
I would always want to see common sense shown in these matters. The hon. Lady suggests that it would be worthwhile to share the specifics of the case with me. I would certainly appreciate the opportunity to take this away and look at what we can do to assist and provide any appropriate guidance and advice.
Ian Mearns
Lab
N/A
Question
You might remember that I raised the issue of delays with passports at business questions back in April. The Leader of the House expressed some surprise that I was getting upset about it back then, but I can honestly say to the Minister that the position since then has become much, much worse. Two million passports were issued in March and April alone.
Minister reply
There was quite a lot there, Mr Speaker, and I think that if I were to answer all of that, I would be at real risk of incurring your wrath. The hon. Gentleman is a canny parliamentarian who took the opportunity to raise this issue in business questions. He will have noted from my earlier responses the steps that we have been taking in that period to address this issue.
Margaret Ferrier
Lab
Rutherglen and Hamilton West
Question
I put on record my thanks to the Glasgow passport office, which has been most helpful to my caseworkers. I have a constituent who applied for a child’s passport; they travel next week, and my team have been urgently supporting them in trying to get, at a minimum, the Australian passport returned urgently.
Minister reply
I certainly want the hon. Lady to share her constituent’s experience with me and with Ministers in the Department, particularly the concerns that she raises about how the calls have been handled. If she shares those details with me, we will look at them in the usual way.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
I thank the Minister for his replies to questions this morning. May I put on record my thanks to his ministerial staff and particularly to the Belfast passport office, for everything that they do? Will the Minister outline whether he has considered allowing renewals to be fast-tracked in regional areas, such as by allowing the Belfast office to handle Northern Ireland renewals and especially children’s first passports?
Minister reply
I join the hon. Gentleman in thanking the staff of the Belfast office for all their work. I will take away the hon. Gentleman’s suggestion for how we might process future applications and share it with the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay.
Shadow Comment
Nick Smith
Shadow Comment
The shadow thanked staff but criticised the Minister's response as inadequate given constituent complaints about long waits on phone lines and in offices. He pointed out that people are losing holidays due to passport delays, especially during a cost-of-living crisis where fast-tracking applications at an extra £100 per person is unaffordable for many families. The shadow asked for the actual backlog size and when HMPO's 10-week timeframe will be reduced to three weeks. He also questioned the value-for-money of the Home Office’s £77 million contract with TNT.
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