A NEWPORT MP has accused the Government of “passing the buck” over issues with the backlog in dealing with passport applications.

On Tuesday, a senior Government source told the PA news agency that Boris Johnson had threatened to “privatise the arse” out of the Passport Office amid concerns over delays ahead of the summer.

One of the seven Passport Offices across the UK is based at Nexus House in Newport.

Newport West MP Ruth Jones raised the issue in Parliament, calling for the Passport Office to be properly resourced to deal with the backlog.

“The staff working at the Passport Office in my constituency of Newport West have been working incredibly hard under difficult circumstances, but they require additional staff to deal with the record demand,” she said.

“The staff union, the Public and Commercial Services Union, has claimed that the Passport Office planned to recruit 1,700 new staff members to help deal with this increased demand, but only 300 have actually been brought in so far.

“Can the Minister confirm those reports?”

Kevin Foster MP, parliamentary under-secretary of state for immigration and future borders, said: “I can confirm that we have increased staff numbers by 500 since April 2021, and we are in the process of recruiting another 700.

“As of April 1, there were more than 4,000 staff in passport production roles.

“We are also offering incentivised overtime as well, for those who are prepared to work at weekends.

“We are increasing the resources and the staffing, and again I pay tribute to the staff working at the Newport Passport Office, who are doing a tremendous job under a lot of pressure.”

When asked about the issue by the Argus, Ms Jones said: “I’m opposed to any suggestion of privatising the Passport Office here in Newport West.

“There's no evidence that privatisation will help shift the backlog, but yet again the Government are passing the buck when they should be dealing with the issue themselves.

“The backlog is a serious problem and has affected the whole of Newport as well as the rest of the country, but we shouldn't blame hard-working staff in the passport office.

“They did a brilliant job throughout the pandemic, and now need resources and support to tackle the backlog.

“We need to see staffing numbers in the Passport Office fully increased as previously promised. New, well-trained staff should be hired on permanent contracts, so that demand can be met in the future, and everyone gets their passports in a timely manner.”

  • Have you been hit by delays in processing passorts? We want to hear from you - fill in the form below to let us know.