Recommendation 6

We are disappointed by the Department and HMPO’s lack of ambition in their plans to meet demand for passports in 2023 and beyond. HMPO estimates that there are still three million customers who did not renew or apply for passports during the pandemic and expects a level of demand in 2023 similar to 2022. This pattern of demand will re-emerge every 10 years as passports expire. HMPO also believes there may be a more fundamental shift in customer application patterns following the pandemic, with people renewing their passports only when they plan to use them, rather than renewing when they expire. HMPO has conducted reviews to learn lessons from its experience in 2022 and prevent issues in the future, but we are not convinced how successful this will be given that it experienced similar surges in demand and service issues in 1999 and 2014. It plans to rely on surge teams to manage spikes in demand by moving people flexibly between roles. In doing so, HMPO is focused on coping with demand, rather than being bold in trying to manage it. While it is important that HMPO ensure they have the correct processes in place, we are increasingly concerned that this focus has distracted them from developing a clear strategy for the timely delivery of passports moving forward, and what they will prioritise when there are surges in demand. Recommendation 6: The Department should set out, as part of its Treasury Minute response, how it will better manage demand for passports in future and what outcomes it will use to measure its performance. 8 Investigation into the UK Passport Office 1 Delays in processing passports in 2022