Passport Office (Delays)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 7:00 pm on 10 June 2014.

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Photo of Geoffrey Robinson Geoffrey Robinson Labour, Coventry North West 7:00, 10 June 2014

The new UK Visas and Immigration department is feeling the pinch as much as everybody else. Staff are being moved from there, as my right hon. Friend points out—but not just from there. They are being moved from other departments, too. It is all hands to the pump, but it is too late. They have let it build up. It is a crisis and there has to be some accountability.

The interview rooms are filling up with the backlog of passport applications. Mr Pugh, chief executive of the Passport Office, has, I think been unconfirmed in his job for some 12 months now. He said:

“During this busy period we have processed more than 97% of straightforward passport renewal and child applications within the three week target turnaround time.”

I just do not believe it. I think the figures are plain wrong. I do not want to get into statistics, but I ask the Minister to look at them again. They just do not correspond with reality as we all know it. We are here tonight at the end of a long day because we are concerned about the situation affecting our constituents.