Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has increased staffing levels and further improved the digital service to help reduce waiting times. HMCTS is committed to continuing to bring waiting times down further and aims to be back to normal waiting times for grants on new, complete, applications as soon as possible.

Quarterly data on the number of probate grants issued in England and Wales are published within the Family Court Statistics Quarterly bulletin: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly. The latest publication was on 26th September, however the requested information for April-June 2019 has not yet been published while we investigate quality issues identified in the transition between two data systems.

Currently there are no plans to publish this data weekly but statisticians seek views from users as part of their regular consultation on the statistics to ensure they meet the Code of Practice for Statistics with regard to quality and value.

Statisticians are considering adding data on timeliness and will work in consultation with colleagues in Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and users of the data to confirm their plans prior to any publication.

The 93% user satisfaction figure for the online probate service is obtained via an exit survey once an application has been submitted.

Official statistics are not published on the average length of time from receipt of the application to the issue of a grant of probate and letters of administration. HMCTS internal management information, which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official statistics, has been used to show the following average times from receipt of an application to a grant being issued per month over the last 24 months and each of the last 10 years:

These figures do not include cases which are waiting for a grant to be issued. The data from April 2019 to June 2019 have been extracted from the HMCTS Reform Core Case Data system, which is a new system in active development, and may not be directly comparable with figures for earlier periods. All figures, especially those for April 2019 to June 2019, are provisional and subject to revision.

Some grants are experiencing delays of between four and six weeks outside of our targets as a result of significant increases in work during March and April and some technology issues which have now been resolved. We have recruited more staff and are now issuing in excess of 1,000 grants a day, which is bringing waiting times down further.

Official statistics are not published on the average length of time from receipt of the application to the issue of a grant of probate and letters of administration. HMCTS internal management information, which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official statistics, has been used to show the following average times from receipt of an application to a grant being issued per month over the last 24 months and each of the last 10 years:

These figures do not include cases which are waiting for a grant to be issued. The data from April 2019 to June 2019 have been extracted from the HMCTS Reform Core Case Data system, which is a new system in active development, and may not be directly comparable with figures for earlier periods. All figures, especially those for April 2019 to June 2019, are provisional and subject to revision.

Some grants are experiencing delays of between four and six weeks outside of our targets as a result of significant increases in work during March and April and some technology issues which have now been resolved. We have recruited more staff and are now issuing in excess of 1,000 grants a day, which is bringing waiting times down further.

The recent, temporary increase in waiting times was caused by a combination of an increased volume of incoming work and the transition to a new case management system. The move to the new system meant that staff had to spend time being trained and familiarising themselves with it. There were also some initial performance issues which have now been resolved.

At the end of June 2019, 93% of users indicated, from five feedback options, that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the online application service provided.

Urgent action has been taken to address the delays which have been experienced in the probate service. Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is increasing staffing levels and further improving the digital service to help reduce waiting times.

Official statistics are not published on the average length of time from receipt of the application to the issue of a grant of probate and letters of administration. HMCTS internal management information, which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official statistics, has been used to show the following average times from receipt of an application to a grant being issued:

These figures do not include cases which are waiting for a grant to be issued. The data from April 2019 to June 2019 have been extracted from the HMCTS Reform Core Case Data system, which is a new system in active development, and may not be directly comparable with figures for earlier periods. All figures, especially those for April 2019 to June 2019, are provisional and subject to revision.

Some grants are experiencing delays of between four and six weeks outside of our targets as a result of significant increases in work during March and April and some technology issues which have now been resolved. We have recruited more staff and are now issuing in excess of 1,000 grants a day, which is bringing waiting times down further.

The recent, temporary increase in waiting times was caused by a combination of an increased volume of incoming work and the transition to a new case management system. The move to the new system meant that staff had to spend time being trained and familiarising themselves with it. There were also some initial performance issues which have now been resolved.

At the end of June 2019, 93% of users indicated, from five feedback options, that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the online application service provided.

Urgent action has been taken to address the delays which have been experienced in the probate service. Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is increasing staffing levels and further improving the digital service to help reduce waiting times.

Official statistics are not published on the average length of time from receipt of the application to the issue of a grant of probate and letters of administration. HMCTS internal management information, which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official statistics, has been used to show the following average times from receipt of an application to a grant being issued:

These figures do not include cases which are waiting for a grant to be issued. The data from April 2019 to June 2019 have been extracted from the HMCTS Reform Core Case Data system, which is a new system in active development, and may not be directly comparable with figures for earlier periods. All figures, especially those for April 2019 to June 2019, are provisional and subject to revision.

Some grants are experiencing delays of between four and six weeks outside of our targets as a result of significant increases in work during March and April and some technology issues which have now been resolved. We have recruited more staff and are now issuing in excess of 1,000 grants a day, which is bringing waiting times down further.

The recent, temporary increase in waiting times was caused by a combination of an increased volume of incoming work and the transition to a new case management system. The move to the new system meant that staff had to spend time being trained and familiarising themselves with it. There were also some initial performance issues which have now been resolved.

At the end of June 2019, 93% of users indicated, from five feedback options, that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the online application service provided.

Urgent action has been taken to address the delays which have been experienced in the probate service. Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is increasing staffing levels and further improving the digital service to help reduce waiting times.

Official statistics are not published on the average length of time from receipt of the application to the issue of a grant of probate and letters of administration. HMCTS internal management information, which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official statistics, has been used to show the following average times from receipt of an application to a grant being issued:

These figures do not include cases which are waiting for a grant to be issued. The data from April 2019 to June 2019 have been extracted from the HMCTS Reform Core Case Data system, which is a new system in active development, and may not be directly comparable with figures for earlier periods. All figures, especially those for April 2019 to June 2019, are provisional and subject to revision.

Some grants are experiencing delays of between four and six weeks outside of our targets as a result of significant increases in work during March and April and some technology issues which have now been resolved. We have recruited more staff and are now issuing in excess of 1,000 grants a day, which is bringing waiting times down further.

Official statistics are not published on the average length of time from receipt of the application to the issue of a grant of probate. Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) internal management information, which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official statistics, has been used to show the following average times from receipt of an application to a grant being issued:

These figures do not include cases which are waiting for a grant to be issued. The data from April 2019 to June 2019 have been extracted from the HMCTS Reform Core Case Data system, which is a new system in active development, and may not be directly comparable with figures for earlier periods. All figures, especially those for April 2019 to June 2019, are provisional and subject to revision.

Some grants are experiencing delays of between four and six weeks outside of our targets as a result of significant increases in work during March and April and some technology issues which have now been resolved. We have recruited more staff and are now issuing in excess of 1,000 grants a day, which is bringing waiting times down further.

Urgent action has been taken to address the delays which have been experienced in the probate service. Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service is increasing staffing levels and further improving the digital service to help reduce waiting times.

Official statistics are not published on the average length of time from receipt of the application to the issue of a grant of probate. Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) internal management information, which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official statistics, has been used to show the following average times from receipt of an application to a grant being issued:

These figures do not include cases which are waiting for a grant to be issued. The data from April 2019 to June 2019 have been extracted from the HMCTS Reform Core Case Data system, which is a new system in active development, and may not be directly comparable with figures for earlier periods. All figures, especially those for April 2019 to June 2019, are provisional and subject to revision.

Some grants are experiencing delays of between four and six weeks outside of our targets as a result of significant increases in work during March and April and some technology issues which have now been resolved. We have recruited more staff and are now issuing in excess of 1,000 grants a day, which is bringing waiting times down further.

Urgent action has been taken to address the delays which have been experienced in the probate service. Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service is increasing staffing levels and further improving the digital service to help reduce waiting times.

Full consideration has been given to the effect of the proposed fees structure for grant of probate applications on receipts and subsequently on processing performance. We would expect an increase in the number of applications received prior to the introduction of the new fees, which would be partly offset by a decline in receipts post-introduction.

In March 2019 there was a significant increase of probate applications ahead of the anticipated implementation of the new fee structure but, as the fees were not introduced as planned, the high volume of receipts continued into April.

Urgent action has been taken to address the delays which have been experienced in the probate service. Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service is increasing staffing levels and further improving the digital service to help reduce waiting times.

Official statistics are not published on the average length of time from receipt of the application to the issue of a grant of probate. Internal management information, which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official statistics, however shows that in the last financial year (2018/2019) the average time was three weeks.

Whilst timeliness data are not yet available for the last three months, it is clear that waiting times have increased. Urgent action has been taken to address these temporary delays, staffing has been increased and the digital service further improved, and as a result waiting times are starting to reduce.

There are no prescribed target times for dealing with probate applications. The recent increase in waiting times has been caused by a combination of an increased volume of incoming work and the transition to a new case management IT system. The move to the new system meant that staff had to spend time being trained and familiarising themselves with the system – which also had some initial performance issues that have been addressed.

Official statistics are not published on the average length of time from receipt of the application to the issue of a grant of probate. Internal management information, which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official statistics, has been used to show the following average time from receipt of an application to a grant being issued:

These figures do not include cases which are waiting for a grant to be issued. The data from April to June 2019 has been extracted from the HMCTS Reform Core Case Data system, which is a new system in active development, and may not be directly comparable with figures for earlier periods. All figures, especially those for April 2019 to June 2019, are provisional and subject to revision.

Some grants are experiencing delays of between four and six weeks outside of our targets as a result of significant increases in work during March and April and some IT issues which have now been resolved. We have recruited more staff and are now issuing in excess of 1,000 grants a day that is bringing waiting times down further.

Waiting times in the probate service have recently increased. However, following urgent action by the courts service, they are now starting to improve.

The temporary delays were the result of more work coming into the system and the impact of the initial move to a new IT system for managing probate work.

Now that move is complete, and the unusually high workload has been dealt with, we expect waiting times to continue to improve – and be back to normal levels in the coming weeks.

I think the Government will be responding to that in due course.

The Non-Contentious Probate (Fees) Order 2018 went through Committee at the beginning of the year but has still not been subject to a vote here. Given that the proposed increase, for no additional work, from £215 to potentially £6,000 has been described as an abuse of the Lord Chancellor’s fee-levying powers, has he had second thoughts and decided to reject this iniquitous proposal?

We are unable to locate the case without further details. If my Hon. Friend writes to me with details of the case, I will ask my officials to look into the matter.