In a normal year, HM Passport Office processes 7 million passport applications. Due to COVID-19, only 4 million applied in 2020, and 5 million in 2021.

Following the return of unrestricted international travel, HM Passport Office forecasted that up to 9.5 million British passport applications would be made in 2022.

HM Passport Office prepared extensively for this unprecedented demand. A project team operated throughout the second half of 2021 with sole focus on ensuring readiness across the service. This included consideration of supplier preparedness, system resilience, and operational capacity.

These preparations have ensured the service has responded robustly to the challenges of this year. More British passport applications have been processed than ever before, with an average of 800,000 applications being completed each month. This has been helped by increasing staff numbers by 1,200 since April 2021. HM Passport Office will continue to recruit to cover attrition and ensure it remains fully resourced.

This impact of COVID-19 on passport services is not unique to the UK, with passport issuing authorities across the world reporting increased processing times.

Since April 2021, people have been advised to allow up to 10 weeks when applying for their passport from the UK. 96.4% of applications were completed within that timeframe between January and July of 2022. Where an application from the UK has taken longer than 10 weeks, and the customer can evidence that they are due to travel within the next fortnight, then their case will be prioritised at no additional cost.

With elevated demand for passports expected to continue in 2023, it is anticipated applications will take longer than in pre-pandemic years. However, every effort will be made to return processing times to the previous timeframes as soon as possible.

In response to Teleperformance’s delivery of the Passport Adviceline not meeting the required standard, the Home Office has worked constructively with them to ensure that they meet the needs of passport customers. Their performance has improved significantly, and across August they exceeded the required service standard for calls answered.

Each month, HM Passport Office conducts customer surveys with its customers to gather feedback about the service provided. In July 2022, 72% scored 8, 9, or 10 out of 10, for their experience (where 10 is excellent). In preparation for the continued high demand, further efforts will be made to enhance the service offered. This will include improvements to messaging and customer contact, to help better meet the needs of those with an application in progress.

While any loss of document is regrettable, it is comparatively rare. Every attempt is made to recover misplaced documents, and HM Passport Office works with its suppliers to develop measures to reduce the number of losses.

Although the Government has no plans to investigate, the National Audit Office will be reporting on the effectiveness of managing the passport service, in response to correspondence received from Members of Parliament and the public. Alongside its own efforts to continue to improve the service provided, HM Passport Office will carefully consider any recommendations made by the National Audit Office to help ensure that it continues to best meet the needs of its customers.

Home Office

This is a revised response. The Petitions Committee requested a response which more directly addressed the request of the petition. You can find the original response towards the bottom of the petition page (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/608931)