The UK Passport Office’s appointment booking system has been out of action for 36 hours and I cannot get any sense of what is going on. There has been no information, but callers are being told to keep trying on subsequent days as the system is down nationwide.
I need to urgently book an interview appointment for my brother, who has Asperger’s, so it’s making the whole getting-a-passport saga even more trying. Is this going to be another passport meltdown?
DB, Carlisle, Cumberland
Each year the Passport Office issues more than 5m passports. Four years ago, when its backlog exceeded half a million, it was made directly accountable to ministers. But the Home Office has reassured us that the technical issues are now fully resolved and will not cause delays. It tells us: “We apologise for any inconvenience. There is a good availability of interview appointments, and customers should still expect to receive a passport within six weeks of applying.”
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