Correspondence Feb. 04 2025
Committee: Justice Committee (Department: Ministry of Justice)Found: The Government remains committed to improving the probate service for everyone that needs to use it.
Feb. 14 2025
Source Page: Probate waiting times halved thanks to Government pushFound: times cut to just over four weeks, as around eight out of ten of applications go digital Additional staff
Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that probate application delays have on the number of empty homes.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
HM Courts & Tribunals service (HMCTS) has not collected data to assess the impact that probate application delays have on the number of empty homes.
However, HMCTS has invested in additional staff and made system and process improvements to reduce waiting times and progress is being made to reduce delays. Official statistics published by the Ministry of Justice show, despite continued high levels of receipts, average waiting times are improving and was 7 weeks, from receipt of the documentation needed, for grants issued during July to September 2024. Management Information published by HMCTS, which undergoes fewer quality checks than Ministry of Justice Official Statistics, shows average waiting times currently stand at 4 weeks, from receipt of the documentation needed to grant issue, for cases completing in December 2024. This in turn is likely to have had a positive impact on the time that housing remains empty. Individual cases may take longer due to a variety of reasons such as family disputes or lack of information, leaving homes empty for extended periods.
Average waiting times for probate grants are routinely published on gov.uk via the Family Court Statistics (Family Court Statistics Quarterly - GOV.UK) and HMCTS Management Information (HMCTS management information - GOV.UK).
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to help tackle delays in the granting of probate.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service has invested in additional staff and made system and process improvements to reduce waiting times. Management Information published by HMCTS shows, despite continued high levels of receipts, average waiting times are improving and currently stand at 5 weeks, from receipt of the documentation needed, for November 2024.
Average waiting times for probate grants are routinely published on gov.uk via the Family Court Statistics (Family Court Statistics Quarterly - GOV.UK.) and HMCTS Management Information (HMCTS management information - GOV.UK)
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the backlog of cases within the probate service.
Answered by Heidi Alexander - Secretary of State for Transport
HM Courts & Tribunals Service has invested in more staff, alongside system and process improvements, which has seen record levels of grants of probate issued during the last 6 months.
Management Information published by HMCTS shows, despite continued high levels of receipts, the open workable caseload (cases not waiting for more information from the applicant) has reduced by over 50% (36,000 cases) since August 2023 and currently stands at 31,842 in June 2024.
The average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate (following receipt of the documents required) has reduced by 4.5 weeks in June 2024 compared to August 2023. The average timeliness for cases completing in June was 8.5 weeks.
Correspondence Mar. 18 2025
Committee: Justice Committee (Department: Ministry of Justice)Found: The current service provides the ability to digitally issue claims via HMCTS’s digital service Money
Jun. 16 2009
Source Page: Table showing the number of Senior Civil Service (SCS) and non-SCS staff (full-time equivalent) in each HM Court Service office in the last two years, as at 31 Mar 2008 and 31 Mar 2009. 2 p.Found: HMCS - Staff in Post as at 31st March 2008 (Permanent, on-Strength (Fullt Time Equivalent -FTE)Sum of
Written Evidence Nov. 27 2024
Inquiry: Interpreting and translation services in the courtsFound: The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) is the largest trade union in the civil service, representing
Oct. 09 2024
Source Page: Unregulated legal services: Consumer protection law guidanceFound: Pre-paid probate Overview of consumer protection issues in the pre- paid probate sector 6.1 P re-paid
Apr. 07 2025
Source Page: Family Court Statistics Quarterly: October to December 2024Found: - Open caseload in the Probate Service by type and age of case, England and Wales 2023 - 2024 (Oct-Dec