Column: Talking Politics - Working to overcome our ‘Backlog Britain’

Although the Coronavirus is still with us, the summer months are upon us and thanks to the vaccine, we can once again enjoy the levels of freedom which had become painfully distant during lockdown.This should mean holidays and long overdue breaks, however I’m afraid to say that the backlog in passport processing at the Home Office is just one of the broken systems my team and I are battling with on behalf of local people.In the last few weeks, I have had 39 local residents contact me due to problems with the Passport Office. One family applied for a new passport for their child in March.It took two months to process and arrived one day before their holiday. Due to a spelling error in the child’s name made by passport office, the family had no choice but to cancel their holiday.It isn’t uncommon for passport processing to now take longer than 10 weeks so if you are planning to go abroad this summer then please do check your passport.I’m afraid it isn’t just passports. Too many of the basic services we expect the Government to deliver seem to be falling apart.The DVLA is the same. One Halifax constituent applied to renew their driving licence in January and did not hear back until four months later when I made representations on their behalf.We have 18 other cases where local people are experiencing exceptional delays.Another backlog and one of the biggest issues coming to my office is the waiting list for NHS dentists.Everyone should be able to access NHS dental care locally when they need it, but this is not the case, locally or nationally.One Halifax resident told me they had called more than 30 dental practices with every practice telling them that they were not accepting new NHS patients.Another constituent cannot find a dentist for her three year old child who is yet to see a dentist for the first time.Alongside other MPs, I have shared these cases in the House of Commons.I have urged the Secretary of State to scrap the current system and introduce reforms which will bring dentists back into the NHS.I have also created a petition on my website calling for improved dental provision so that residents can access care easily and locally.The petition is on my website so please do add your signature before I present it in the Commons before the summer.In his recent letter to the Prime Minister, it was the Conservative MP Jesse Norman who told Boris Johnson “Under you, the Government seems to lack a sense of mission. It has a large majority, but no long-term plan.“Rather, you are simply seeking to campaign, to keep changing the subject and to create political and cultural dividing lines mainly for your advantage.“Sensible planning has been replaced by empty rhetoric.”He was totally right. So many basic functions of the state are grinding to a stand-still when we can least afford it.Please Prime Minister, just do the basics.