Ms. Tierney was appointed Director-General of both the Passport Office and British Visas and Immigration in March 2020, when the pandemic began. She previously worked for Serco, a private contractor for many public services, and holds a PhD from Oxford University.
Following her appointment to £ 160,000 a year as Head of the Passport Office, she has claimed almost £ 4,500 for 20 trips to London between March 2020 and July 2021 – a 16-month period during which the government advises staff to work. from home, unless absolutely necessary.
A spokesman for the Home Office said: “We have passport offices in various parts of the UK, with 90 per cent of our staff based outside London. It is therefore ridiculous to assume that any senior leader who does not live there would affect his ability to do his job to the highest standards.
“As part of the government’s equalization agenda, we are proud to distribute opportunities and leadership roles more evenly across the country and will continue to do so. It is right that we attract the best talent from all over the United Kingdom. ”
An Interior Ministry official accused The Telegraph of asking an “extremely inappropriate question” about whether Ms. Tierney worked mostly from home. The official said that the Ministry of Interior would not comment on “personal circumstances whether they or not [civil servants] travel to the office. “
A second official said Ms Tierney spent time at Leicestershire at home as part of her flexible job and that her job did not require her to be in the London office.
Officials are confident they will reach the target in 10 weeks
Employees processing protected passport applications had to work in different locations of the Passport Office throughout the country. Ms. Tierney’s role as CEO does not require her to be in the office at all times, although the source insisted that she works from other large offices, including Peterborough, much less away from home.
Mr Foster told lawmakers he was “convinced” that the 10-week passport target would not be further extended as the government was criticized for processing applications.
He said 90% of applications were submitted within six weeks between January and March, despite a jump in demand – and a “vast majority” within 10 weeks. The record million was completed in March.
“The main message we would like to convey to the public is to apply now if you plan to travel in the summer, and we will do it in the time we say we will, which is the 10-week period,” he said. he said.
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