Passport Office Apology (At Last)

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27892420

Vaz managed to get an apology eventually !

But what was the cause of this fiasco and what will be done to make sure it doesn't happen again next year ? The answer to the first must be "the cuts" of course.

[mikey4444]

From " There isn't a backlog" on June 11th to an apology on June 17th. What a difference a week makes in politics !

[wolf63]

There is a backlog every year so why are they all jumping up and down this year?

[mikey4444]

Because its worse wolfie and the main reason is that this Tory government
switched the issue of passports from individual embassies abroad back to Britain. Trying to get a quart out of a pint pot again.

[jno]

as mikey says - there are always delays this time of year but this one is much worse than normal, mainly because they're now dealing with all the applications that would in the past have been handled abroad, as well as the regular workload.

[mikey4444]

A complete shambles, and all to cut a few pounds.

[Farriercm]

But Mikey, what was the financial cost of the quango type inquiry, into the fiasco?.

[wolf63]

I didn't know about them getting work back from abroad.

The civil servants will be getting overtime to clear the backlog. It used to be paid at double time and then it was reduced to time and a half. It is ten years since I was a civil servant - it could have been reduced further.

It is all so complicated

[ChillDoubt]

Apology, schmology. Means nothing.
Dock him half his salary and he may take a little bit of notice.

[jno]

well, it's not his fault if his bosses have increased his workload, is it, CD? Especially if they've denied him the resourcess to cope. Sounds to me as if he's just the fall-guy.

[ChillDoubt]

If it's not his fault j, why is he called to answer to the committee?
The buck stops with the big cheese, that's why they're the one's called to appear in front of a Commons Select Committee!

[mikey4444]

I heard on the radio, a recording taken at the Commons Select Committee, where this chap was questioned by Keith Vaz, and it was wonderful. Some of us question what our MPs do all day, but if the evidence of this Committee is anything to go by, they are earning their money in spades !

I wish I could find a link to this other than the short one that I have already posted,

[ummmm]

Why do people leave it so late to get their passports? They've known for 10 years when it's going to run out.

[EDDIE51]

Ummmm, most of the backlog is new applications, you have to attend an interview at the passport office now to get a first passport. Plus as said, if you were a UK citizen living overseas you used to get a new passport from the British embassy or High Commission, now they all have to be sent back to the UK passport office which has had it's staff cut in addition to the extra work load.

[ummmm]

I understand that but people still leave it till the last minute to renew and book their holidays before they have their passports. It's daft and it happens every year.

[mikey4444]

But ummmm..it has been explained that people leaving it to the last minute are not the cause of this present problem.

Its the cuts being applied by the Government that is the problem, together with a denial that there is anything amiss in the first place. A week ago, the Government front bench denied that there was a backlog...now they have been forced to admit that there is a shambles in the Passport Office.

[ummmm]

Fair enough but that doesn't help the people waiting for their passports who hoped they'd be back in a few weeks.

[Prudie]

My impression is it wasn't cuts but a massive increase in applications (and why is that???). Agree with ummm about the sob stories I heard on the radio about flip-flops bought etc but no passport. Your average British holiday maker should know in plenty of time to get their passports sorted, most of them have had all winter to think about it.

[ummmm]

You can renew your passport 9 months in advance.

[mikey4444]

No of course not, but are you now clear on what the cause of this problem is ?.

A three week turn-around sounds a perfectly normal expectation to have, to renew a passport. The majority of passport applications are for renewals, not first-time applications or applications coming in from abroad. This now cannot be achieved because of mistakes made in the funding and day-to-day running of a minor Government Dept. It was extremely short-sighted for the Government to think that by making these cuts, that there would be no consequence. Had it not been for the opposition dragging Mrs May kicking and screaming into the Commons to explain her mistakes, they would still be denying that there was anything wrong in the first place. From denial to an apology in just 7 days !

I am still trying to find a verbatim report of yesterdays Commons Select Committee where the Chief of the Passport Agency had an apology forced out of him. According to the clip I heard on the Today program this morning, he hadn't even provided the Committee with the facts and statistics that it had asked for. This is arrogance and maladministration on a grand scale.

[ummmm]

I knew what the problem was. It doesn't change the facts though. Only stupid people would book a holiday with no passport.