Demand rises for passports as workers begin strike

There has been a "temporary increase" in demand for new passports ahead of more than 1,000 Passport Office workers starting five weeks of strike action.

The Home Office confirmed a rise in applications but said the amount was "close" to levels estimated.

It said there were currently no plans to change its 10-week guidance for passports to be processed and sent out.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union are striking until 5 May in a row over jobs, pay and conditions.

Workers will walk out across across England, Scotland and Wales from Monday, while employees working in Belfast will strike from 7 April to 5 May.

The PCS union has warned of delays to applications and the delivery of passports in the run-up to summer.

But the Home Office told the BBC while there had been an increase in demand, "the number of passport applications remains close to forecasted volumes".

"There are currently no plans to change our guidance which states that it takes up to 10 weeks to get a passport," it said.

The Home Office said it was "disappointed" by the strike action, and added it was "working to manage" the disruption, and continue the service through "comprehensive contingency plans".

More than 4,000 people are employed by the Passport Office across the UK, which means that according to union figures around one in four workers will take action.

The union has said the walkouts are being targeted to cause mass disruption and involve members working in departments which examine passports - more than 1,300 people.

The offices affected in England, Scotland and Wales include Durham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newport, Peterborough and Southport.

At peak times - including the month of April when the strike will take place - the Passport Office can receive 250,000 applications per week, travel expert Simon Calder has previously said.

He added that means more than one million applications could be sent during the strike period.

Current waiting times for first adult passports are just over 18 days while renewals are just over 14 days, according to Passportwaitingtime.com, an independent crowd sourcing website which relies on people inputting their own application wait times.

But there are fears the strikes could lead to passports not being processed in time for some people's holidays.

A UK adult passport is valid for 10 years, but if it is due to expire you may be refused entry into some countries. Guidance for each country can be found on the government's foreign travel advice website.

It said some 360,000 customers waited more than 10 weeks to receive their passports in the first nine months of 2022 and warned that up to 10 million applications could potentially be submitted this year.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka has previously said the strike action was over the government refusing to increase a proposed 2% pay rise and added ministers had "failed to hold any meaningful talks".

Inflation, which is the rate at which consumer prices rise, was 10.4% in the year to February.A strike fund worth millions, funded by a levy from PCS members, has been built up to pay staff in full during the course of the five-week walkout, the union has said.

The government has urged the union to "recognise what is reasonable and affordable, as the whole country faces these cost of living challenges".