Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the current average processing time for probate cases; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times.

Despite record level of receipts during January to March 2023, the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate, following receipt of the documents required, is 9 weeks.

HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand following an increased number of estates requiring probate and these resources are focussed on increasing outputs to reduce overall timeliness on all types of applications.

Average waiting times for probate grants, are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to March 2023.