To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport applications submitted to the Passport Office in the last six months have been fully processed within (a) four weeks, (b) six weeks, (c) eight weeks and (d) ten weeks.

Ahead of unrestricted international travel returning, HM Passport Office prepared extensively to serve an unprecedented number of customers, with 9.5 million British passport applications forecasted throughout 2022.

These preparations, which include the recruitment of 650 additional staff since April 2021 and with plans in place to recruit a further 550 by this summer, have ensured that passport applications can be processed in higher numbers than ever before. This was demonstrated in March and April 2022 when HM Passport Office achieved record outputs by completing the processing of two million applications.

Since April 2021, HM Passport Office has been advising people to allow up to 10 weeks when applying for their passport from the UK. However, Her Majesty’s Passport Office will always endeavour to process applications as quickly as possible, and in the simplest of cases that require fewer manual interventions these may be processed much more quickly.