HC Deb 07 March 1988 vol 129 c4W
Mr. Latham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the capacity for handling telephone calls from the public at the passport office in Peterborough; and what is the current average time after dialling and ringing that a caller is answered and connected to a member of staff to assist his or her query.

Mr. Renton

A new 24 exchange line telephone system was installed at the Peterborough passport office in July 1987. The time callers have to wait before being connected first to the operator and subsequently to the required extension varies according to the volume of calls at the particular time and the equipment does not have the capability to monitor response times. Planned modifications to the system, which will enable callers to be routed to a recorded message giving the answers to most general enquiries, should be completed within the next few weeks.

Mr. Latham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current number of passport applications awaiting action at the passport office in Peterborough; and what is the average time within which the documents are issued to the applicant, assuming the application form has been correctly completed.

Mr. Renton

Correctly completed non-urgent applications are being dealt with within 20 working days. Urgent applications are given priority. Applications are now being received at a rate of about 22,000 a week and it is estimated that a total of some 77,000 are now at the various stages of processing within the office.

Mr. Latham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current staff of the passport office in Peterborough; what is the authorised establishment; and when the last staff inspection took place.

Mr. Renton

The authorised permanent complement is 169 and there are now 208 staff in post, 43 of whom are casuals. The last formal staff inspection was in 1979. As I said in answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Mr. Amess) on 4 February, at column687, work is well advanced on the computerisation of passport issuing in the United Kingdom. The computerised system will be installed at the six passport issuing offices over the next two years and staffing levels will be reviewed when the new system is operational.