Concerns over passport fiasco

Concerns over passport fiasco 20/6/14

SNP MPs in Westminster have demanded assurances from the Home Secretary that Scots waiting for new passports will be able to receive them in time.

The MPs, including local SNP MP Angus MacNeil, are very concerned that reported problems with the Passport Office will result in families being forced to cancel holidays and have highlighted that the problem is most immediate for families in Scotland with the earlier start to the school summer holidays here. Angus MacNeil MP raised this issue with the Home Secretary today in the House of Commons.

Angus MacNeil MP said: "Today I raised the issue of passports with the Home Secretary. With many families in our islands gearing up to go on holiday the delays in Passport Applications could not come at a worst time.

“The Home Secretary has been unable to provide any guarantee so far but we have left her in no doubt of the urgency of this issue for families in Scotland who have made plans for the fast approaching school holiday period.

“The SNP has pointed out that school holidays start earlier in Scotland than the rest of the UK- making the passport fiasco much more immediate and pressing in Scotland. The Home Secretary needs to acknowledge these circumstances and make every effort to get passport applications sorted out in time.

“People work hard all year and tens of thousands are at risk of missing out on their holidays.

“We already have a situation in Scotland where Scots can no longer collect passports from the Glasgow office and are having to travel or receive them in the post. This issue could be resolved in Scotland with the-reopening and re-staffing of our passport office– a solution the Home Secretary failed to consider.

“With Scotland a constituent part of the UK, it should have its own passport office. Clearly, Scotland deserves a fully functioning and comprehensive passport office like any other nation, a point I made in the House of Commons as well as pointing out that after independence, Scotland will have its own passport office, which will help the Scottish people rather than the debacle we have at the moment.”