§ 25. Mr. ArcherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to increase the number of permanent staff in passport offices.
§ Mr. RentonPassport department officials are in consultation with trade union representatives about staffing levels, pending a full review of staffing requirements which is to be undertaken following the completion of the current computerisation programme.
§ 45. Mr. RoweTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the average times taken to process non-urgent passport applications at major passport offices; and what were the comparable times one year ago.
§ Mr. RentonThe current processing times for straightforward non-urgent postal applications at the six United Kingdom passport offices are shown in the table, together with those of a year ago. Urgent applications are given priority, and are not normally subject to delay.
Average time between receipt of application and issue of passport (working days) Passport office 19 February 1989 21 February 1988 London 18 37 Glasgow 20 22 Peterborough 18 18 Newport 24 16 Liverpool 24 12 Belfast 3 3