'Passport chaos' debate sees Shropshire MPs line up on different sides of the issue
People in Shropshire looking to get new passports have been advised to apply at least 10 weeks before they plan to travel.
Shropshire MPs found themselves on different sides of the issue in Parliament earlier this week with one describing the situation as 'passport chaos' while another praised a government minister for helping her constituents.
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan said one local family that contacted her were a typical example.
Ms Morgan said: "They sent off four applications in April, got three back within a few weeks but are still waiting for the final passport.
"As the clock ticks down to their family holiday the Home Office has finally made contact. But not to apologise and send out the passport – to ask for evidence of the applicant’s name change when no name has been changed."
The Lib Dem MP is reiterating her warning to holidaymakers to apply for passports as early as possible as delays continue to get worse at what she calls the struggling Home Office – leaving people facing a “lottery” of whether they will be able to travel abroad.
Ms Morgan added: "Every day more and more people are contacting me upset that they are having to cancel their travel plans because of delays receiving a passport.
“Some get their new passport within days but for others it takes months and often there is no difference between the applications."
In a debate earlier this week she urged the Government to apologise for 'ruining thousands of people’s travel plans due to its continued failure to deal with the passport backlog'.
MPs were voting on demanding that the Minister for Safe and Legal Migration speak in the House of Commons to “apologise for the tens of thousands of people who have waited more than six weeks for their passport”. It called for Government minister Kevin Foster to be censured for his handling of the crisis at Her Majesty’s Passport Office.
The motion was defeated after Conservative MPs, who have a majority in the Commons, voted against it. All four of Shropshire's Tory MPs supported the
Among those was Telford MP Lucy Allan, who stood up for her ministerial colleague, Mr Foster.
"Will he continue to help the constituents of Telford in the way that he has?" she asked.
"Every single one of my constituents has received their passport when I have approached the minister. Will he continue to offer that level of assistance across the House to all members who approach him?
Mr Foster said he had helped MPs across the party political divide.
Mr Foster said problems were not unique to the UK and there were other examples from around the world.
He said: "We are keen to get on with delivering services but colleagues will recognise that there is a very great surge of demand.
"There are plenty of other examples of this problem from around the world despite the interesting comments we have heard that have tried to make out that it is somehow unique to Britain.
"Some Members need to visit a website or two or read an international newspaper; they will then find out that such things do actually happen across the world, not just in the United Kingdom. We will certainly carry on our work."
Mr Foster added that the Passport Office provides an expedited service where an application from the UK has been with it for longer than 10 weeks.
"Where a customer in those circumstances can provide evidence that they are due to travel within the next fortnight, their case will be prioritised," he said.
"That helps to ensure that the small percentage of people whose application has taken more than 10 weeks will continue to receive their passport ahead of their travel.
"I must stress that this expedited service comes at no additional cost to our constituents.
"For those who require their passport sooner than 10 weeks, Her Majesty’s Passport Office offers urgent services, available for a further fee."
