Passports Debate

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Department: Home Office

Passports

Lord Dholakia Excerpts
Thursday 11th December 2014

(9 years, 11 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Bates Portrait Lord Bates
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Where there are exceptional cases then it is possible to apply for emergency travel documentation. Of course, such a matter is dealt with through the local embassy and the local consulate.

Lord Dholakia Portrait Lord Dholakia (LD)
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My Lords, has the agency status of the Passport Office now been resolved? In that case, where does the ultimate responsibility for delays, et cetera lie?

Lord Bates Portrait Lord Bates
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The ultimate responsibility now lies with the Home Office. We have taken that decision. Sometimes in the history of government it has been the case, when there was a problem, that we push it out and call it “agency status”. Here we have brought it in-house to get a grip on it. That is clearly happening.