Daily Express story link below (from yesterday). As ever with newspapers the story seems to contain some contradictions such as saying that only urgent passport cases are being processed, while later on it quotes a Home Office spokesperson saying that standard renewals are being processed but are taking longer than usual. The story seems to have been inspired by one in the Telegraph on 22 May.
My application is at Peterborough. I was in the city centre last week taking a walk round the outside of the cathedral. The Passport Office is quite close. As I walked back on my way home I noticed two members of the PO staff returning to the office in the mid-afternoon and going in through the staff entrance. If nothing else that does at least prove some of the staff are at work though what they’re doing is anyone’s guess.
What there’s no indication of anywhere is whether Passport Office staff are going to gradually building their service back up. One would have expected a modicum of normal service resumption as the lockdown eases. I might add that there are all sorts of other areas that have shut down, like birth registration for example.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/passports-expiring-lockdown-coronavirus/