Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Bryant Excerpts

Wednesday 6th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

1. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of the passport application processing service for people in Wales.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

4. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the time taken to process passport applications for people in Wales.

[Alex Davies-Jones (Pontypridd) (Lab)]

5. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the impact of the time taken to process passport applications on people in Wales.

--- Later in debate ---

[Simon Hart]

I should add, for anybody who has an interest in this particular subject, that if there are individual cases that are clearly being badly held up, they should please pass them on to the Wales Office and we will do whatever we can to expedite the service. In answer to the hon. Gentleman’s question, 850 additional staff have been brought on since April 2021, with a further 350 arriving this summer.

[Chris Bryant]

I simply do not believe the statistics the Government keep on giving, and I think the Secretary of State should push back on them. I have 30 cases outstanding and more coming in to my office every single day of the week. The team in Portcullis House used to be five people, but is now only three, so there is less of a service. Members of staff have to queue for two and a half hours to be able to deal with a single passport case. I have people who have been waiting for 14 weeks, some who have been waiting for 18 weeks, children who have been waiting for 14 weeks—this is simply incompetence. When will the Government get a grip of it?

[Simon Hart]

The hon. Gentleman knows that every MP has examples of their own. I can only restate what I said just now: where there are individual cases, we are very keen to help. Some 98.5% of applications are being dealt with within the timescale. I realise that for the people who are not in that particular bracket it is intensely frustrating, and it is frustrating for Members across the House. The situation continues to improve, but if there are ways we can help the hon. Gentleman and his constituents I am very happy to do so.