The price of a standard passport will rise by £5.50 from this September, the government announced today.
The fee for a standard ten year adult passport will rise from £72 to £77.50 from September 3, with a £3 rise for a child’s passport. This is the first fee rise since 2007, although it does mean that the fee has risen by over a third (£26.50) since October 2006 (see online news July 27, 2006). The hike is subject to final approval by the Privy Council tomorrow (July 8).
The Home Office said that the decision to increase fees follows “a decline in passport applications experienced during these difficult economic times”. It added that the rise would ensure The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) is able to continue to deliver “the service its customers have come to expect”, and “the security enhancements to passports to which it is committed”.
James Hall, chief executive of IPS, said:
"The Identity and Passport Service has been able to freeze passport fees since October 2007 due to efficiency savings despite the delivery of a new generation of passport. This year demand has fallen and we must ensure this lost revenue doesn't affect our ability to deliver a quality product and excellent customer service.
"We are determined to do everything we can to minimise the impact on our customers and have already put in place a wide range of measures to cut costs. These include the restructure of the Glasgow Passport office, which saved £2 million per year; a reduction of 200 posts through natural wastage; and savings of more than £5 million on our contracts with private sector suppliers.
"However we were still faced with an increase in net costs that risked undermining our high standards of integrity and customer service. The increase in fees will ensure that the service customers have rightly come to expect can be maintained."
For more information visit ips.gov.uk.
Report by Mark Caswell
The table below shows the new fees applicable from September 3:
