HC Deb 21 July 2004 vol 424 cc336-7W
Mrs. Ellman

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the efficiency of Special Mail Services in delivering United Kingdom passports; and if he will make a statement. [182803]

Mr. Browne

The United Kingdom Passport Service assesses the performance of Special Mail Services (SMS) on a regular basis. Since the new arrangements for secure delivery of UK passports commenced on 9 February SMS have successfully delivered just over 3 million passports and have surpassed their key performance target of delivering 97 per cent. of passports on the next working day. On current information recorded losses of passports total 219 over the five month period.

Based on the first five months of contract performance SMS and UKPS have identified a number areas of SMS's performance including the security of their premises and vetting of their staff where arrangements need to be strengthened. UKPS will be closely monitoring the implementation of planned improvements to their performance over the next few months.

The SMS contract was awarded following a competitive tender and the payments made to SMS are in line with the contract, delivering the anticipated value for money for passport customers.

Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is the practice of the UK Passports Service to cash cheques for passport applications before processing the application itself. [184201]

Mr. Browne

Yes, all payments for passport services are processed as soon as the application is received. There are good reasons for this. On security grounds, so that large sums of money are not held at passport offices. On grounds of regularity, so that passports are only issued to customers who have paid in full and for process efficiency. In processing over 5 million passport applications annually it would be impossible to keep payments with applications throughout the whole issuing process.

Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether compensation is payable for(a) delay and (b) distress in the case of an error by the UK Passports Service in transposing an incorrect photograph onto a passport application. [184218]

Mr. Browne

The compensation policy of the UK Passport Services (UKPS) which reflects good practice guidance issued by the Cabinet Office and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, is to reimburse the reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred by customers as a direct consequence of clear errors or omissions by its staff. It is not UKPS's normal policy to make compensation payments for loss of enjoyment, distress or inconvenience arising from such errors. Each claim is treated on its merits, and for audit purposes documentary evidence is needed to confirm significant additional expenditure incurred by a passport applicant.

In the case of an error by the UKPS in inserting an incorrect photograph in an issued passport, under the terms of its policy, if additional costs have been incurred by the customer as a result of such an error, this would provide a basis for a claim on UKPS for compensation.