Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Acknowledged
Between January and September 2022, around 360,000 people did not receive their passports within 10...
Conclusion
Between January and September 2022, around 360,000 people did not receive their passports within 10 weeks. The Department asserted that when it became aware that a customer needed to travel, it would escalate that individual’s case, at no further cost.11 We asked the Department what it had done to assess the human impact on those who did not receive their passports on time. The Department accepted that even a small percentage of passports not being delivered on time represented “a lot of very dissatisfied people”.12 However, it was unable to tell us how many of the 360,000 people affected had to cancel their travel plans as a result of the delays, and it had not attempted to collect information on this. By extension, the Department would not know how many customers had experienced other consequences, such as not being able to attend family emergencies.13
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.