June 29, 1999. Copyright 1999. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

ADVERTS TO EASE PASSPORT CHAOS

LONDON, June 29, Graphic News: BATTLING a backlog of 530,000 passport applications, the UK government has resorted to issuing free two-year passport extensions and plans a £500,000 advertising campaign to discourage individuals applying in person at passport offices, hoping for a quicker response.
The average waiting time for passports, according to the unions, is now more than seven weeks, compared to a target time of two weeks. The problem is partially due to a new law requiring children to have separate passports. This has led to a dramatic rise in applications ahead of the summer vacation, just as two major passport offices were introducing a new computer system.
The Home Office has already promised compensation to those who are forced to rearrange their travel because their documents were delayed.
Home Office Minister Mike OÕBrien told Parliament on Monday that nearly 19,000 passport extensions were issued in May and more than 19,100 so far this month.
OÕBrien said the extensions represented more than £1 million in lost income for the Passport Agency, but that this would be recovered in two years.
An extra 300 new staff have been taken on to cope with the backlog as the agency attempts to process extra passport applications. But at the passport office in Liverpool, the passport queue stretched more than 100 yards on Monday.
Sharon McDonald, 36, of nearby Stockport, said she applied for her son RobÕs new passport in May, but heard nothing. They are hoping to go to Majorca on Thursday. 
ÒIt has caused me a lot of worry in case I lose my holiday,Ó she said. ÒThey say they will pay compensation, but the question is, how much?Ó
The Passport Agency says it has issued 2.4 million passports so far this year, and only 50 people have missed vacation dates.
/ENDS