Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many complaints he has received about the performance of the probate service in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The attached table shows the number of complaints about the performance of the probate service in each of the last five years.
HMCTS has significantly increased staffing levels in Probate over the past year to help process applications faster. The training and upskilling of those new and existing staff have led to applications taking longer in the short term.
HMCTS have streamlined internal processes to cut down on administrative delay and reduce processing times. We are continuing to invest in improving digital systems and online filing capabilities so users can track progress more easily.
HMCTS does not collate the management information on how many errors by the probate service caused delays to the processing of applications.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times errors by the probate service caused delays to the processing of applications in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The attached table shows the number of complaints about the performance of the probate service in each of the last five years.
HMCTS has significantly increased staffing levels in Probate over the past year to help process applications faster. The training and upskilling of those new and existing staff have led to applications taking longer in the short term.
HMCTS have streamlined internal processes to cut down on administrative delay and reduce processing times. We are continuing to invest in improving digital systems and online filing capabilities so users can track progress more easily.
HMCTS does not collate the management information on how many errors by the probate service caused delays to the processing of applications.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the time taken by the probate service to process applications; and what the average time is to process an application for the latest period in which data is available.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The probate service received record levels of applications during 2022 and this has continued to grow with higher levels of receipts during January to June 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. Whilst HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand the training and upskilling of those new and existing staff has led to applications taking longer in the short term.
HMCTS are focused on increasing outputs to reduce overall timeliness on all types of applications and the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate, following receipt of the documents required, is 13 weeks during April to June 2023.
Average waiting times for probate grants are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to June 2023.
The number of FTEs working in the probate service in each of the last five years is as follows:
March 2019 = 152
March 2020 = 153
March 2021 = 250
March 2022 = 246
March 2023 = 296
We aim to answer telephone enquiries to the probate service within an average of 12 minutes. However, 2022 performance had fallen short of this goal but has since improved in 2023 by 60% to 12 minutes 15 seconds.
To improve telephone response times and the overall experience for applicants, HMCTS have undertaken additional staff training to ensure probate call agents can provide more accurate and helpful information.
To further enhance the information provided during calls, we are expanding our probate contact centre scripts and FAQs to address common queries in a clear and compassionate way.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what service standards guidance the probate service has for answering telephone enquiries; and whether he is taking steps to improve the information provided to applicants who contact the probate service by telephone.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The probate service received record levels of applications during 2022 and this has continued to grow with higher levels of receipts during January to June 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. Whilst HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand the training and upskilling of those new and existing staff has led to applications taking longer in the short term.
HMCTS are focused on increasing outputs to reduce overall timeliness on all types of applications and the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate, following receipt of the documents required, is 13 weeks during April to June 2023.
Average waiting times for probate grants are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to June 2023.
The number of FTEs working in the probate service in each of the last five years is as follows:
March 2019 = 152
March 2020 = 153
March 2021 = 250
March 2022 = 246
March 2023 = 296
We aim to answer telephone enquiries to the probate service within an average of 12 minutes. However, 2022 performance had fallen short of this goal but has since improved in 2023 by 60% to 12 minutes 15 seconds.
To improve telephone response times and the overall experience for applicants, HMCTS have undertaken additional staff training to ensure probate call agents can provide more accurate and helpful information.
To further enhance the information provided during calls, we are expanding our probate contact centre scripts and FAQs to address common queries in a clear and compassionate way.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many full time equivalent staff worked in the probate service in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The probate service received record levels of applications during 2022 and this has continued to grow with higher levels of receipts during January to June 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. Whilst HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand the training and upskilling of those new and existing staff has led to applications taking longer in the short term.
HMCTS are focused on increasing outputs to reduce overall timeliness on all types of applications and the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate, following receipt of the documents required, is 13 weeks during April to June 2023.
Average waiting times for probate grants are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to June 2023.
The number of FTEs working in the probate service in each of the last five years is as follows:
March 2019 = 152
March 2020 = 153
March 2021 = 250
March 2022 = 246
March 2023 = 296
We aim to answer telephone enquiries to the probate service within an average of 12 minutes. However, 2022 performance had fallen short of this goal but has since improved in 2023 by 60% to 12 minutes 15 seconds.
To improve telephone response times and the overall experience for applicants, HMCTS have undertaken additional staff training to ensure probate call agents can provide more accurate and helpful information.
To further enhance the information provided during calls, we are expanding our probate contact centre scripts and FAQs to address common queries in a clear and compassionate way.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what service standards the probate service has for answering telephone enquiries; and whether he is taking steps to improve the information provided to applicants who contact the probate service by telephone.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It has not proved possible to respond to the right hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the time taken by the probate service to process applications; and what the average time is to process an application for the latest period in which data is available.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It has not proved possible to respond to the right hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times errors by the probate service caused delays to the processing of applications in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It has not proved possible to respond to the right hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many complaints he has received about the performance of the probate service in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It has not proved possible to respond to the right hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many FTEs worked in the probate service in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It has not proved possible to respond to the right hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.