The Passport Office has been urged to learn lessons from the backlog chaos when hundreds of thousands had their applications delayed following the relaxation of coronavirus travel restrictions
A report by the National Audit Office, the Government's spending watchdog, warned HM Passport Office to "prepare for similar levels of demand" in 2023 to the increased applications seen in 2022, when 360,000 people waited longer than 10 weeks to receive their passports after applying.
Despite planning ahead, problems with recruitment and “limitations in its systems”, as well as unsuccessful efforts to deal with the level of demand all “contributed to longer than expected waits”, according to findings published on Friday.
