Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department provides for constituents who have missed their holidays due to passport delays.

Since April 2021, people have been advised to allow up to ten weeks when applying for their British passport as more than 5 million people delayed applying due to the pandemic. 98.6% of all passport applications continue to be dealt with well within 10 weeks.

The standard service does not have a guaranteed timeframe as a passport cannot be issued until all checks have been satisfactorily completed, and HM Passport Office cannot take responsibility for missed travel. But where a UK-based customer submitted their application more than 10 weeks previously and can evidence that they are due to travel within the next fortnight, Her Majesty’s Passport Office will prioritise their case.