§ 2. Mr. John Wilkinson (Ruislip-Northwood)What estimate he has made of the compensation to be paid by his Department to British holidaymakers who are unable to travel abroad in 1999–2000 owing to the non-return of their passport by the Passport Agency. [89211]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Mike O'Brien)Compensation payments average about £260. Between April and July, there have been 132 cases in which compensation claims have been received relating to missed travel dates.
§ Mr. WilkinsonIs the Minister in any way changing his attitude? He will recall that, on the morning of 29 June, he told the British public over the airwaves that the crisis was all their fault: it was all their fault for panicking. By the afternoon of that day, the Home Secretary was saying at the Dispatch Box that he would pay compensation—and rightly so—to all whose holidays had been wrecked, and to business men who could not meet due travel dates.
Does the Minister think that the figure he has given represents genuinely fair compensation? Is £260 sufficient compensation for a wrecked holiday, or for the unquantifiable business lost by business men who could not meet their travel dates?
§ Mr. O'BrienWe always consider compensation claims in full.
The hon. Gentleman referred to what I was alleged to have said. He completely traduced what I said. I said no such thing; I did not blame everyone for what happened in the Passport Agency, and we have not sought to duck that responsibility.
4 Let me try to set the compensation issue in context. The agency has made compensation payments for many years. In the last financial year, it made 70 compensation payments. In 1997–98, it made 50 and, in 1996–97, it dealt with 88 compensation claims. It normally identifies the cost within a budget of 2p on the cost of a passport worth £21, which, in total, raises about £100,000. In terms of the claims that we have met so far, we are not even nearing that figure; therefore, the compensation claims that we will meet will be dealt with properly. They will be considered according to the normal arrangements, as they have been for many years. We will seek to ensure that, so far as we can, we continue to meet 99.99 per cent. of travel dates that people ask to us meet.
§ Mr. Ben Bradshaw (Exeter)Could not the recent situation have been eased and future time wasting and bureaucracy avoided if we abandoned our rather idiosyncratic adherence to the requirement for passports for travel between this country and fellow European Union member states?
§ Mr. O'BrienMy hon. Friend will know that protecting our border controls was safeguarded as a fundamental principle by the Prime Minister at Amsterdam. We intend to ensure that we maintain border controls.
§ Mr. Richard Allan (Sheffield, Hallam)The Minister must be aware that the public would be very angry if they found that they had to pay the full costs of this year's chaos at the Passport Agency without the contractors paying serious penalties. Therefore, does he agree that it is in the public interest for there to be full disclosure of any penalties that are paid by Siemens Business Systems in respect of its part in the Passport Agency problems? If such agreements are covered by commercial confidentiality, will he approach Siemens to ask it to forgo that confidentiality for the wider public interest?
§ Mr. O'BrienThe summary business case is already a public document and we are placing it in the Library of the House. Any compensation payments will be dealt with in the normal way.
§ Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover)Why is it that there are computers that are run by Government—when the Tories were in and now under the present Government at the Passport Agency—that seemingly do not work, yet, throughout the ages, there has always been one computer that works immaculately. We should use it every time for these purposes: the one that is used by Inland Revenue. When money is drawn in, the computer works. When money is paid out, for example, by the Benefits Agency and Passport Agency, it does not work. Why does my hon. Friend not take my advice and say stuff it to Siemens?
§ Mr. O'BrienMy hon. Friend will be pleased to know that we are having frank and full discussions with Siemens.
§ Miss Ann Widdecombe (Maidstone and The Weald)What are the current turnaround times for passports and when will the backlog be cleared?
§ Mr. O'BrienMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will make a statement on that point in answer to 5 Question 6 from the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath), but may I reassure the right hon. Lady? The way in which the computer system and staff are now operating continues to ensure that 99.99 per cent. of holiday dates are met. As for those people who have applied for passports but have not received them yet, we are attempting to do all that we can to ensure that they do receive them, and to meet all the requirements that people are putting on the Passport Agency. May I join her in paying tribute—as she did in last week's debate—to the hard work of the ordinary members of staff at the Passport Agency, who, in difficult circumstances, have done the best that they could?