Passport wait times have been dramatically reduced according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
During Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, the PM said the Government is "massively increasing the speed with which the Passport Office delivers". He said, to the best of his knowledge, "everybody’s getting their passport within four to six weeks".
Government guidance issued on Monday (May 23) said people should allow up to 10 weeks for a new or replacement passport to arrive.
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Following the PM's comments, Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow transport spokesperson, tweeted: “Did @BorisJohnson really just claim that ‘everyone is getting their passport back within 4-6 weeks’? The Passport Office's own guidance won't allow MPs to even contact them on behalf of our constituents until 10 weeks have passed.”
Travel expert Simon Calder said the Prime Minister is "sadly mistaken". Mr Calder said: "The Home Office now says 'over 90%' of passports are turned round within six weeks. One in 70 takes longer than 10 weeks."
Earlier this week, the ECHO reported on a family who could face missing out on their first holiday abroad together due delays in processing a passport application.
Katie Wilson, 23, from Speke, applied for first time passports for herself, her daughter Lexi-Mae, six, and her son Leighton-Stanley, four, on January 1 ahead of a family trip to Tenerife on June 2. The single mum-of-two said her passport arrived in March, followed by her son's in April - but despite sending all three applications off together her daughter's passport is still yet to arrive.
On Friday last week, Katie said she queued outside the passport office from 10.30am until it closed at 6pm but no one was available to help her.
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