I am aware that many of my constituents are experiencing long delays when applying for a passport for themselves or a family member. Constituents and my caseworkers have had to spend many hours on hold in an attempt to speak to UK Visas and Immigration about passport cases, and the responses we have received have often been very poor.

As a result, some people have missed holidays and others have been unable to travel abroad to visit sick family members. This isn’t good enough and I have written to the Home Secretary to urge her to look into this.

I have since received an update from the Home Office which advises people to apply for passports at least 10 weeks before they will be needed, saying “while this is not a guaranteed service timeframe, those who have pre-booked holidays can take confidence from the provision of an expedited service for complete applications which have been with HM Passport Office for longer than 10 weeks.”

I can’t promise that I will always be able to get you your passport in time, but if your situation is urgent, please do get in touch with my office and we will do all we can to help.