PM’s ultimatum for WFH civil servants
He threatens to ‘privatise the a***’ out of DVLA and Passport Office over delays and empty desks
BORIS Johnson delivered an ultimatum to stay-at-home officials last night as he threatened to ‘privatise the a***’ off the Passport Office and DVLA amid huge backlogs.
The Prime Minister said families deserve better than the ‘post-Covid manana culture’ that has seen thousands of civil servants refusing to return to the office.
Declining to rule out privatisation as a possible solution to waits of more than ten weeks for passport applications to be processed, Mr Johnson said people want to see ‘action’.
He added: ‘I do think we have a general issue in some of our approaches to public services and perhaps more widely that we all got used to working from home, Zoom calls, to thinking we could do business like that.
‘I’m the custodian of the public purse, I’m looking at how much we’re taking and how much we’re spending – I have to ask myself, actually is it as productive as all that?’
He told TalkTV that he saw the benefits of working from home but added: ‘When I see institutions not delivering things like passports or driving licences in a speedy way, these things are quite expensive, £150 to get a new passport.
‘I don’t care whether an institution is in the public or private sector. I want it to deliver
‘Post-Covid manana culture’
value and a good service.’ And the PM put other failing quangos on notice, saying families need a ‘cheaper, faster service’.
The PM will summon the Passport Office’s leadership for urgent talks at No 10 next week, as travel bosses warn the delays could prevent passengers from going on holiday.
Separately, the boss of the private firm that runs the Passport Office’s helpline is being hauled in for talks with Cabinet Office chiefs and told to ‘get a grip’ on queue times.
More than 800,000 motorists are waiting for driving licences due to a DVLA backlog caused by strike action and home-working.
A Government source said Mr Johnson told ministers that public bodies need to do far more to improve services.
The PM is said to be concerned that families planning summer holidays are under pressure to pay up to £100 extra per passport to fast-track their applications.
The source said privatisation would not be the starting point but that Downing Street could consider it if the Passport Office cannot meet the ten-week target for standard online applications costing £75.50.
Last night, MPs warned of backlogs in the English and Welsh courts system, with 58,818 cases still waiting for a hearing in Crown courts and 83,645 outstanding private family law cases in family courts.
And probate cases, part of the legal process after someone dies, are taking significantly longer to process than in February 2020.
At yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Mr Johnson said boosting the efficiency of public services could help ease the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on taxpayers. Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye said passport delays are ‘really disappointing’ and that it is vital people can go on holiday this summer in case Covid restrictions return.
On Monday, MPs were told about a woman who waited more than five months for her daughter’s new passport.
Last night, MPs called on ministers to do more to tackle lengthy court backlogs.
A report by the Commons justice committee highlighted a shortage of staff, particularly judges, and problems with court maintenance. A source at the
DVLA said industrial action last August and the de-prioritisation of DVLA medical checks by the NHS during the pandemic and again for the booster vaccine rollout had hit processing times for medical applications.
The backlog for paper applications stands at 836,000.
Another Government source said one of the main problems at the Passport Office was that people could not get through to the outsourced helpline company, Teleperformance.
Mark Serwotka of the PCS union, which represents Passport Office and DVLA staff, said: ‘It is clear that a crucial service like the Passport Office needs to be properly resourced.’