Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore has raised the issues faced by some of his constituents trying to renew their passports directly with Home Office Ministers, to press their department to find a solution on the matter.
Speaking in Parliament, Moore noted that some of his constituents have waited well over ten weeks for a new passport. As a result, some are having to cancel holidays as well as other significant events requiring foreign travel. Moore therefore raised the “outstanding cases” regarding those waiting for passports, and asked for:
“further reassurance to me and to my constituents that we will be able to deal with their cases and get them completed as soon as possible?”
In his response, Home Office Minister Kevin Foster stated that his department have recruited a further 650 staff in response to the issues outlined by Moore, and are in the process of recruiting another 550. In addition, he promised that those who have already waited over 10 weeks for a new passport who will soon be travelling will have their applications expediated free of charge.
Robbie Moore MP said: “Over the past weeks, I have received some urgent pieces of correspondence regarding those awaiting a new passport, particularly from people who need to travel soon, so it is vital I use my position as your MP to raise this directly with the relevant Government Ministers.
Whilst we have thankfully seen some progress, there are still some outstanding cases regarding constituents which need resolving. I welcome that the Home Office are taking action on this, including by employing more staff and prioritising urgent cases, but I will keep pushing to make sure these cases are dealt with as soon as possible.”
