05 April 2023 , 23:01
726
0
Hundreds of thousands of Brits faced "unacceptable" delays to getting their passports despite warnings of a post-Covid surge in demand, a critical report reveals today.
MPs found that 360,000 people were hit by hold-ups of more than 10 weeks when applying for travel documents in 2022, with holidaymakers left out of pocket and people struggling to get to family emergencies.
A new report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee criticised HM Passport Office for failing to meet the predicted spike in applications after pandemic travel rules eased.
"Confusion and frustration of customers" was exacerbated by weaknesses in how the Passport Office tracked processing times and the performance of its contractors, the committee found.
MPs raised alarm that plans to create a hub to resolve complaints quickly won't be ready in time for an anticipated surge in demand this year.
Theresa May savages Tories over five year delay to Hillsborough report response
Brits missed holidays or failed to make family emergencies due to the backlog in applications (Getty Images)Passport Office figures show it received 7.2 million applications in the first nine months of 2022, a 24% increase on the same period in 2019.
While 95% of people received their passports within the 10-week timeframe, 360,000 applicants experienced unacceptable delays.
Labour MP Nick Smith, who sits on the committee, said many people were "forced to fork out fees" for express services to ensure their passports arrived on time.
He added: "I'm concerned that a failure to upgrade their clunky system may result in similar scenes this year."
SNP MP Peter Grant, another member of the committee, said: “The level of service our constituents received from the Passport Office last spring and summer was simply unacceptable.
"Passport Office staff did the best they could but they were fighting a losing battle against antiquated processes and poor planning.
“These failings resulted in misery for 360,000 people whose passports experienced severe delays.
HM Passport Office was criticised by MPs for its performance (Getty Images)"It’s astonishing that even today the Passport Office hasn’t attempted to find out how many of these people had to cancel holidays or were unable to travel for family weddings or other lifetime occasions.
“This has given the Committee real concern as to whether the Passport Office really understands how much it needs to improve if the public are to get the level of service they’re entitled to expect.”
There are fears of more delays as Passport Office workers began a five-week strike on Monday in a dispute over jobs, pay, pensions and conditions.
Dad who strangled woman to death told police he killed her to 'wash away shame'
More than 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) at eight sites walked out in an escalation of the long-running row.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “2022 was a record-breaking year, with HM Passport office issuing 8.4m passports.
"We worked hard to meet this unprecedented demand and make improvements, hiring hundreds more staff to ensure customers could get their passports in time for travel.
“This action has also meant we have already issued a further record 2.7 million passports so far this year, well within the required standard, with over 99.7% of standard applications being processed within 10 weeks and the majority of those delivered to customers well under this timescale, including 94.5% within 3 weeks.
“We remain committed to ensuring that we provide the best possible service to our customers.”