HMPO had not planned for the large number of applications that needed to be transferred, and the process is labour-intensive for Sopra Steria Ltd., which has to move the applications from one system to the other. HMPO told us that it did not have enough staff to deal with the unexpected volume of paper-based applications, particularly at the beginning of the summer of 2022. HMPO explained that this was due to recruitment delays, and the fact that not enough staff were trained in the paper-based system. HMPO told us that it had now trained over 1,000 staff in both systems so it can move staff between the two systems as needed.29 28 Qq 46, 50 29 Q 78; C&AG’s Report para 3.9 Investigation into the UK Passport Office 13 2 Managing future demand The performance of suppliers