HC Deb 29 June 1999 vol 334 cc104-13W
Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the volume was of incoming telephone calls from the 0990 service to each office of the UK Passport Agency in each month since May 1997. [88878]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

The number of incoming telephone calls transferred from the 0990 service to each office in the UK Passport Agency in each month since May 1997 is shown in the table.

In addition to these calls transferred from the 0870–0990 service, each Regional Office receives calls from an alternative number, which is given out by recorded courtesy messages and high street partners.

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the longest waiting time for personal callers at each office of the UK Passport Agency in each month since May 1997. [88962]

Maximum waiting time (minutes) for personal callers 1997, 1998 and 1999
Months London Liverpool Peterborough Newport Glasgow Belfast
1997
September 106 60 63 30 77 32
October 95 40 70 30 58 15
November 130 60 55 30 60 20
December 172 90 75 20 68 20
1998
January 122 80 40 30 65 20
February 189 70 40 45 67 25
March 150 60 50 40 60 25
April 158 70 50 30 49 10
May 120 90 45 40 67 15
June 250 80 100 45 86 15
July 216 110 100 45 87 20
August 141 110 105 40 51 30
September 171 100 60 40 56 20
October 134 100 60 40 55 10
November 73 100 90 40 48 5
December 188 100 80 30 50 5
1999
January 114 100 40 25 57 20
February 169 100 55 35 39 25
March 225 140 60 45 56 15
April 238 140 90 50 56 60
May 323 140 150 55 75 60

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unprocessed passport applications were outstanding at the end of each week since 1 January 1999 at each office of the UK Passport Agency. [88882]

Unprocessed passport applications 1999
Week ending London Liverpool Peterborough Newport Glasgow Belfast Total
3 January 1999 3,938 9,585 8,111 10,630 22,969 5,591 60,824
10 January 1999 3,887 20,444 14,598 11,154 22,364 5,392 77,839
17 January 1999 2,843 23,029 20,466 10,327 24,548 9,632 90,845
24 January 1999 4,180 30,530 27,052 29,641 30,693 15,057 137,153
31 January 1999 5,249 31,173 39,966 31,750 40,532 18,610 167,280
7 February 1999 5,507 40,057 47,715 39,328 44,180 21,632 198,419
14 February 1999 5,976 52,161 51,326 46,823 47,107 18,393 221,786
21 February 1999 6,708 62,526 60,747 50,789 55,247 17,868 253,885
28 February 1999 8,095 81,396 60,206 57,540 58,605 14,351 280,193
7 March 1999 8,088 74,417 55,976 57,446 61,541 18,105 275,573
14 March 1999 8,047 83,115 61,608 56,545 63,942 20,147 293,404
21 March 1999 22,014 77,255 62,484 61,726 64,862 21,639 309,980
28 March 1999 9,748 76,895 65,214 59,839 65,851 27,151 304,698
4 April 1999 9,809 71,387 68,784 53,817 72,810 24,417 301,024
11 April 1999 9,820 73,169 67,893 55,792 75,311 29,195 311,180
18 April 1999 7,342 79,344 72,758 58,517 82,333 33,108 333,402
25 April 1999 8,113 87,892 88,253 58,993 90,121 33,279 366,651
2 May 1999 9,530 97,030 90,403 61,992 102,102 36,016 397,073
9 May 1999 12,505 107,352 91,646 65,888 108,655 38,466 424,512
16 May 1999 13,929 118,055 95,813 71,176 121,258 38,912 459,143
23 May 1999 13,602 137,897 99,398 76,465 124,524 33,999 485,885
30 May 1999 12,470 147,792 102,073 83,256 128,721 24,527 498,839
6 June 1999 11,684 143,093 93,411 87,005 127,416 25,049 487,658
13 June 1999 13,143 161,823 100,214 104,428 133,207 18,570 531,385
20 June 1999 11,607 184,362 100,089 113,007 136,594 19,877 565,536

Mr. Mike O'Brien

The information requested on the longest waiting times for personal callers at each office of the UK Passport Agency in each month since May 1997 is set out in the table.

Mr Mike O'Brien:

The information requested on the numbers of unprocessed passport applications outstanding at the end of each week sine 1 January 1999 is set out in the table.

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library copies of the UK Passport Agency's business plan 1999–2000 and corporate plan 1999–02. [88880]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

I will place a copy of the UK Passport Agency's 1999–2000 Business Plan and 1999–02 Corporate Plan in the Library of the House once it has been approved, which I hope will be in the next few weeks.

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in respect of each office of the UK Passport Agency the volume of incoming

Month Recorded/courtesy messages Belfast Glasgow London Liverpool Newport Peterborough
January 1998 516,045 13,521 25,918 22,512 37,624 46,624 21,596
July 1998 563,559 11,196 24,457 15,305 36,151 41,376 25,153
August 1998 279,214 9,047 26,776 15,168 1— 34,086 23,936
September 1998 202,702 8,744 26,724 26,805 1— 1— 25,592
October 1998 291,458 10,764 23,576 30,123 13,569 1— 1—
November 1998 131,726 7,366 23,348 31,195 20,129 26,481 15,103
December 1998 192,176 1,412 17,292 20,712 17,969 22,465 16,796
January 1999 332,296 875 21,984 26,725 21,445 32,911 25,566
February 1999 370,537 4,152 20,878 23,691 17,421 35,479 27,982
March 1999 668,287 4,876 25,914 38,020 15,060 30,148 29,470
April 1999 669,048 9,249 19,822 15,324 10,914 25,695 20,036
May 1999 1,388,522 9,175 16,706 17,053 6,893 26,240 12,988
1Management information not available due to refurbishment work

It can be seen from the table that an element of the calls are answered centrally by recorded messages, while the remainder are transferred to the local office to be answered by an operator. The percentage of calls answered within 60 seconds by an operator is detailed in the following table. Gaps in the table occur when information is not currently accessible.

Volume of calls dealt with at each regional office and percentage answered within 60 seconds
Week Volume of calls answered Percentage of calls answered within 60 seconds
Belfast
4 January 1999 — —
11 January 1999 — —
18 January 1999 1,037 93.10
25 January 1999 — —
1 February 1999 875 91.90
8 February 1999 1,020 98.50
15 February 1999 1,095 98.90
22 February 1999 1,164 97.10
1 March 1999 — —
8 March 1999 — —
15 March 1999 — —
22 March 1999 1,276 90.20
29 March 1999 971 92.30
5 April 1999 — —
12 April 1999 1,883 84.20
19 April 1999 2,322 76.60
26 April 1999 2,544 71.30
3 May 1999 — —
10 May 1999 — —
17 May 1999 — —
24 May 1999 2,220 25.10
31 May 1999 — —
7 June 1999 1,869 20.30

telephone calls for each week since 1 January and the percentage of such calls which were answered within 60 seconds. [88877]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

The UK Passport Agency's published telephone inquiry number is a single non-geographical number (0870 5210410). The inquiry service is fronted by an automated menu system which, depending on the option selected, then routes calls to either an appropriate recorded message (for general inquiries) or an operator (for specific inquiries). Details of the volume of incoming calls are listed in the following table.

Volume of calls dealt with at each regional office and percentage answered within 60 seconds
Week Volume of calls answered Percentage of calls answered within 60 seconds
Glasgow
4 January 1999 3,829 24.00
11 January 1999 6,124 51.80
18 January 1999 6,703 63.90
25 January 1999 5,328 75.10
1 February 1999 5,059 69.00
8 February 1999 5,109 67.50
15 February 1999 5,325 74.90
22 February 1999 5,385 91.40
1 March 1999 5,344 86.10
8 March 1999 5,732 88.80
15 March 1999 5,463 88.20
22 March 1999 5,837 87.50
29 March 1999 4,430 85.20
5 April 1999 4,185 70.40
12 April 1999 4,541 74.10
19 April 1999 5,348 89.20
26 April 1999 4,867 78.50
3 May 1999 3,896 72.90
10 May 1999 4,705 74.30
17 May 1999 4,500 60.00
24 May 1999 3,606 51.20
31 May 1999 2,696 28.20
7 June 1999 4,187 57.00
Liverpool
4 January 1999 4,544 49.10
11 January 1999 6,036 41.80
18 January 1999 5,630 43.20
25 January 1999 5,235 48.40
1 February 1999 5,033 48.90
8 February 1999 4,190 40.40
5 February 1999 4,007 33.80
Volume of calls dealt with at each regional office and percentage answered within 60 seconds
Week Volume of calls answered Percentage of calls answered within 60 seconds
22 February 1999 4,191 39.60
1 March 1999 3,684 52.60
8 March 1999 3,099 45.00
15 March 1999 3,387 61.70
22 March 1999 3,141 74.80
29 March 1999 2,476 84.40
5 April 1999 2,767 79.70
12 April 1999 2,459 80.70
19 April 1999 2,124 78.80
26 April 1999 2,045 91.80
3 May 1999 — —
10 May 1999 1,843 16.80
17 May 1999 2,685 17.60
24 May 1999 1,049 22.70
31 May 1999 — —
7 June 1999 — —
London
4 January 1999 7,304 86.80
11 January 1999 6,738 86.60
18 January 1999 6,565 88.80
25 January 1999 6,118 93.00
1 February 1999 5,714 95.60
8 February 1999 5,990 93.20
15 February 1999 5,902 86.60
22 February 1999 6,085 95.60
1 March 1999 7,700 87.00
8 March 1999 8,070 75.40
15 March 1999 8,315 77.80
22 March 1999 9,386 87.60
29 March 1999 5,606 71.00
5 April 1999 3,225 24.50
12 April 1999 3,653 15.80
19 April 1999 3,999 25.00
26 April 1999 3,390 10.60
3 May 1999 2,153 12.30
10 May 1999 3,775 18.20
17 May 1999 3,560 14.40
24 May 1999 2,870 6.40
31 May 1999 1,668 4.00
7 June 1999 3,027 8.20
Newport
4 January 1999 8,482 15.80
11 January 1999 8,156 17.00
18 January 1999 8,070 16.90
25 January 1999 8,203 6.60
1 February 1999 8,398 6.80
8 February 1999 8,982 9.90
15 February 1999 8,798 12.60
22 February 1999 9,301 16.20
1 March 1999 — —
8 March 1999 — —
15 March 1999 — —
22 March 1999 — —
29 March 1999 — —
5 April 1999 — —
12 April 1999 — —
19 April 1999 8,872 10.30
26 April 1999 8,323 13.50
3 May 1999 5,143 13.10
10 May 199 5,492 7.80
17 May 1999 4,618 0.00
24 May 1999 6,130 0.00
31 May 1999 — —
7 June 1999 — —
Volume of calls dealt with at each regional office and percentage answered within 60 seconds
Week Volume of calls answered Percentage of calls answered within 60 seconds
Peterborough
4 January 1999 5,389 69.40
11 January 1999 6,505 82.30
18 January 1999 6,901 88.50
25 January 1999 6,771 81.60
1 February 1999 7,044 81.50
8 February 1999 6,986 66.40
15 February 1999 6,918 59.80
22 February 1999 7,034 65.80
1 March 1999 6,815 60.40
8 March 1999 6,720 64.30
15 March 1999 6,548 63.50
22 March 1999 6,101 57.90
29 March 1999 4,288 46.30
5 April 1999 4,504 47.40
12 April 1999 5,750 52.50
19 April 1999 5,352 38.60
26 April 1999 4,430 23.40
3 May 1999 3,094 24.50
10 May 1999 3,479 9.60
17 May 1999 3,173 9.80
24 May 1999 3,242 29.10
31 May 1999 3,558 45.40
7 June 1999 4,355 42.40

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average time taken by the UK Passport Agency to send a substantive reply to correspondence from members of the public in each month in 1999 and for the most recent date for which information is available. [88884]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

The UK Passport Agency works to a target of 10 working days for replying to correspondence. Performance against this target is measured in terms of the percentage of replies sent within 10 working days and figures for the average time taken to reply are not available. The percentage of correspondence replied to within 10 working days in each month in 1999 is as set out in the table.

Month Percentage
January 93
February 100
March 100
April 88
May 66

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress and conclusions of the 1999 review of the agency status of the UK Passport Agency. [88879]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

The 1999 review of the Agency Status of the UK Passport Agency was triggered last May and is expected to deliver its recommendations early next year.

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken by the UK Passport Agency to acknowledge correspondence about complex cases was in each month of 1999 and for the latest date for which information is available. [88876]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

The UK Passport Agency normally acknowledges correspondence about complex cases within five working days. These are cases where there are complex issues and it is not possible to send a substantive reply within the ten working day target for dealing with correspondence. Figures are not available for the average time taken to send acknowledgements. However, in most complex cases, the five working day target is being met.

Personal callers seen within 60 minutes
Percentage
Month London1 Liverpool Peterborough Newport Glasgow Belfast
1997
September 61.00 100.00 92.00 100.00 88.00 100.00
October 63.00 100.00 98.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
November 71.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
December 42.00 90.00 96.00 100.00 99.00 100.00
1998
January 85.00 91.20 100.00 100.00 96.00 100.00
February 58.50 98.00 100.00 100.00 95.00 100.00
March 66.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
April 89.21 98.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
May 57.90 90.00 100.00 100.00 93.00 100.00
June 1— 88.00 92.00 100.00 88.00 100.00
July 74.00 82.00 92.00 100.00 96.00 100.00
August 76.00 80.50 88.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
September 83.80 80.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
October 75.00 85.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
November 70.90 80.40 94.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
December 34.90 74.00 88.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
1999
January 82.90 61.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
February 64.90 61.50 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
March 38.00 59.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
April 39.30 42.00 83.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
May 39.30 32.00 80.00 100.00 82.00 100.00
1Figures not currently available

Personal callers seen within 45 minutes
Percentage
Month London1 Liverpool Peterborough Newport Glasgow Belfast
1997
September 61.00 70.00 83.00 100.00 80.00 100.00
October 63.00 100.00 95.00 100.00 95.80 100.00
November 71.00 81.00 100.00 100.00 97.00 100.00
December 42.00 79.00 92.00 100.00 97.00 100.00
1998
January 85.00 87.00 100.00 100.00 90.00 100.00
February 58.50 95.50 100.00 100.00 92.00 100.00
March 66.00 96.80 97.00 100.00 92.00 100.00
April 89.21 96.60 97.00 100.00 98.50 100.00
May 57.90 77.60 86.00 100.00 84.00 100.00
June 2— 83.80 87.00 100.00 81.00 100.00
July 74.00 57.45 82.00 100.00 90.70 100.00
August 76.00 60.50 70.00 100.00 98.00 100.00
September 83.80 67.80 90.00 100.00 97.00 100.00
October 75.00 72.95 81.00 100.00 97.00 100.00
November 70.90 59.75 90.00 100.00 99.00 100.00
December 34.90 59.05 75.00 100.00 98.00 100.00
1999
January 82.90 53.25 100.00 100.00 98.50 100.00
February 64.90 56.10 90.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
March 38.00 54.00 85.00 100.00 98.00 100.00
April 39.30 18.00 70.00 100.00 96.00 100.00
May 39.30 8.00 60.00 100.00 65.00 100.00
1London office is 60 minutes (figures reported above are against that target)
2Figures not currently available

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of personal callers were seen within(a) 60 minutes and (b) 45 minutes at each office of the Passport Agency in each month since May 1997. [88883]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

The information requested on the proportion of personal callers seen within(a) 60 minutes and (b) 45 minutes in each month since May 1997 are set out in the following tables.

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if performance-related pay forms part of the remuneration of the Chief Executive of the UK Passport Agency; and if he will make a statement. [88886]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

Remuneration for the Chief Executive is linked to the Senior Civil Service pay arrangements and no separate bonus is payable.

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average time taken by the UK Passport Agency to send a formal response to complaints in each month in 1999 and at the most recent date for which information is available. [88885]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

The UK Passport Agency monitors its performance on responding to complaints on a quarterly basis, in terms of the percentage of complaints receiving a formal response within ten working days. Monthly statistics are not available. In the last quarter (January—March 1999), the UK Passport Agency sent a formal response to complaints within ten working days in 93 per cent. of cases.