We asked the Department when it expected to meet its target of processing applications in 25 working days. The Department told us that it considered the target was achievable and that it would be able to meet it once the backlog of applications had been cleared. However, it said it would not promise when the target would be met for two reasons. First, it did not know what would happen to the volume of applications and whether the rate of increase would continue. Second, it considered it was more important to prioritise making the right decisions, as opposed to making the wrong decisions more quickly.27