§ Sir John WheelerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what performance targets he has set for the United Kingdom Passport Agency in 1992–93.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeDuring 1992–93 I shall expect the Passport Agency to continue to seek improvements in the standard of service it provides to customers, and in achieving value for money.
I have set the agency the following key targets:
- (i) to process properly completed, straightforward applications within a maximum of 20 working days in the periods of peak demand between January and June, 15 working days in July and August, and 10 working days at other times,
- (ii) to process such applications within an overall average of 9 working days for the year as a whole,
208 - (iii) to reduce unit costs by a further 1.6 per cent. in real terms over the previous year's target.
The chief executive will remain directly accountable to me for the performance of the Passport Agency. An advisory board, including two private sector members with experience of delivering services to the public, will continue to help me in assessing the agency's performance.