Watchdog says passport delays must not be repeated next year

Hundreds of thousands of radical were affected by passport-processing delays and galore experienced question disruptions this year, a watchdog has found.

As coronavirus pandemic question restrictions were lifted, the Passport Office struggled to support up with an "unprecedented demand", said the National Audit Office (NAO).

Some 360,000 customers waited much than 10 weeks to person their passports successful the archetypal 9 months of 2022.

A akin request is expected successful 2023.

Whitehall's spending watchdog has urged the Home Office bureau to prepare, arsenic up to 10m applications could beryllium made adjacent year.

Despite preparations, the NAO said determination were problems with recruitment, strategy limitations and unsuccessful efforts to woody with the levels of request this year.

This contributed to "longer than expected waits", according to findings published connected Friday.

Gareth Davies, the caput of NAO, said the Passport Office did process a "record fig of applications" but dealing with a higher-than-average request led to "delays for hundreds of thousands of people".

This created "anxiety" for radical with question plans and hampered radical utilizing passports arsenic forms of identity, helium said.

"HMPO indispensable present larn the lessons from this twelvemonth and hole for akin levels of request that are expected successful 2023."

This year, betwixt January and September, much than 7 cardinal radical applied and 6.9m passports were processed by the HM Passport Office (HMPO). This was a 21% summation compared to the aforesaid play successful 2019.

In May, much than 1.2m applications were received - with the busiest week seeing 340,000 requests submitted.

However, the NAO said successful the archetypal 9 months of 2022, 95% of customers did person their passports wrong 10 weeks.

The study said astir 3 cardinal passport applications are inactive expected from radical who did not renew oregon use during the pandemic - meaning a further 9.8m applications could beryllium seen successful 2023.

During the coronavirus pandemic, importantly less radical renewed oregon applied for passports and officials did program for an "expected surge" successful applications erstwhile question rules were lifted.

In 2022, the HMPO prepared for 9.5m applications - 36% much than an mean year. This was based connected the missing fig of applications from the erstwhile 2 years.

The Home Office said the interaction to passport services is "not unsocial to the UK" and it has worked to rectify this.