Home Secretary Kevin Foster said: “We would advise people that this is a very, almost unprecedented jump in demand, and if people plan to travel this summer, we would advise them to get their application as soon as possible.”
But Conservative MP Simon Hoare described the backlog in passports as “predictable”.
The North Dorset MP added: “I hear what the minister said, my voters are certainly telling me that their experience is really good, or it is a complete failure.
“But I agree with the member who raised the issue at first instance – there should be a better interface between members of parliament and the Passport Office when these voters are either for family funeral reasons or for holidays or business reasons. , do not get then deceived by officials when they still pass.
“Something needs to be done to arrest this, and quickly.”
Mr Foster replied: “At the beginning of January, we processed about 60,000 passports a week, and by mid-March we had almost tripled, in fact almost four times, the output of the service.
“I agree with him on the points made earlier that we really need to reconsider the work of the MP hotline, especially when there are insurmountable and compassionate circumstances behind the acceleration of the candidacy.”
Add Comment