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Written question asked by Maya Ellis (Labour) on Wednesday, 20 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 1 June 2026. It was answered by Catherine Atkinson (Labour) on Monday, 1 June 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Probate Service: Staff

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to increase staffing in specialist probate teams to reduce waiting times.

Answer

The Ministry of Justice publishes regular data on probate timeliness and open caseload in our quarterly Family Court statistics bulletin: Family Court Statistics Quarterly - GOV.UK.

HMCTS publishes recent management information (which does not go through the same level of quality assurance and analysis as the Family Court Statistics Quarterly) which provides waiting time information: HMCTS management information - GOV.UK.

Individual users can track the progress and status of their digital applications using the online tracker and they also receive email and text updates at various stages of the process. For paper applications users can call the probate service for an update if the grant has not been issued within 12 weeks.

HMCTS has invested in more staff in 2026, alongside system and process improvements and a programme of upskilling, to improve the processing time for applications and maintain outstanding caseload.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
3520
Session
2026-27
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Staff Standards Probate Service
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk