§ Mr. Merlyn Reesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will investigate the reasons for the delays in telephone inquiries at the Passport Office, and the reason for the queues at this office, including that for making inquiries.
§ Mr. KershawThe Passport Office has a very busy switchboard and occasionally all 25 lines become engaged. I am investigating whether the traffic warrants additional lines.
The majority of callers visit the Passport Office during the lunch period when despite the opening of extra positions some queuing is unavoidable.