Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Acknowledged
We asked the Department how satisfied it was with HMPO’s performance in meeting customer expectations...
Conclusion
We asked the Department how satisfied it was with HMPO’s performance in meeting customer expectations in the spring and summer of 2022. The Department asserted that, given the number of applications that had been processed, there were some things to be positive about, but that “clearly, there are some customers for whom we did not do a good enough job”.8 The Department and HMPO told us that while HMPO had predicted that there would be a surge in demand for passports in 2022, which included “a degree of seasonality”, it had not predicted or planned for the size of the spikes in demand that occurred. The Department told us that the higher than anticipated demand for passport applications in March, April, and May 2022 meant HMPO was “always running to catch up”, causing delays. The Department and HMPO also asserted that media coverage about customers’ negative experiences had exacerbated the spikes in demand, making the situation more difficult to manage.9
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the challenges experienced in early-2022 and described improvements made to deliver consistent high standards of service, including workflow management, customer contact services, digital solutions, and staffing model.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
6.2 In response to the challenges experienced in early-2022, HM Passport Office has worked to deliver a number of improvements to that has delivered consistent high standards of service that its customers rightfully expect. 6.3 This includes improved workflow management information and analytics, which has delivered significantly improved oversight of work in progress, and better enabling the proactive management of its queues. Alongside this, HM Passport Office has acted to add greater resilience to its provision of customer contact services by appointing an additional supplier to handle approximately 25% of calls to the Passport Adviceline. 6.4 It has also continued to develop its digital solutions, approximately 89% of applications begin their processing through DAP, with 81% completed end-to-end. 6.5 In addition, HM Passport Office has developed an ambitious, flexible and responsive staffing model to meet passport demand, and to provide the best service possible to its customers.