§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he will provide extra staff for the Liverpool passport office to clear the current backlog of applications;
(2) if he will provide extra staff to ensure that people telephoning the Liverpool passport office have their calls answered.
§ Mr. RentonYes. Additional staff have been employed to help deal with the backlog, and the telephone system has394W been improved to increase the number of incoming calls that can be handled. A system of free two-year extensions to the life of expired passports is being introduced to help relieve the immediate problem.