The price of a new British passport is going up.

Holidaymakers may have to factor in some additional costs this summer as a result of the government announcement which has confirmed that prices are expected to increase in just a matter of weeks.

Ministers say the price of a passport hasn't changed for five years but that there are now plans to hike costs from February 2 - subject to approval from Parliament.

The changes mean adult passports applied for online will now cost £7 more - rising from £75.50 to £82.50 - and postal applications an extra £8 - rising from £85 to £93.

Children's passports will increase by just under £5 for passports applied for online - going from £49 to £53.50 - and £5.50 for passports requested with a paper form - going from £58.50 to £64.

The Home Office says the fee increase will help the department switch to a system that 'meets its costs through those who use it' rather than relying on money from general taxation. Currently, says the government, no profit is made from the cost of passport processing.

The fees will also contribute to the cost of processing applications, consular support overseas, including for lost or stolen passports, and the cost of processing British citizens at UK borders, it added, while also helping to improve the service.

The new fees will apply to those both applying for their first passport or renewing an expired document.

Last spring the Passport Office came under heavy fire after a mixture of staff sickness and a backlog caused by Covid-19 resulted in large delays for new documents that led to some travellers missing important events abroad such as weddings and funerals and resulted in the cancellation of thousands of family holidays.

The Home Office says over 95% of standard applications have been processed within 10 weeks since the start of last year but that customers are advised to still apply in good time before travelling this summer.