§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long it takes for a passport to be renewed; and if he will make a statement on charges levied to British citizens for their applications. [128094]
§ Ms BlearsIn the week ending 20 July 2003 the average processing time for a single straightforward properly completed application made by post was four days for a renewal.
An increase in passport fees was announced on 18 July. The new fees which come into effect on 2 October 2003 are in the table.
61W
Partner/postal (£) Fast track (£) Premium (£) Adult 42.00 70.00 89.00 Child 25.00 60.00 71.00 Jumbo1 54.50 71.00 95.50 Collectives 39.00 N/a N/a 1 Forty-eight page Passport fees are set to recover the costs of UK Passport Service's issuing passports and those incurred by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on providing consular protection to British nationals in need of assistance overseas. The new fees will allow investment in enhanced anti-fraud measures and the Passport Service's customer improvement programme.