Correspondence Feb. 04 2025
Committee: Justice Committee (Department: Ministry of Justice)Found: executors, probate professionals and charities. 2 Cause for the delays 1.
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: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the target timeframe is for completing investigations into estates of deceased individuals where benefits may need to be recovered following the grant of probate; and what measures are in place to prevent prolonged delays.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There is no target timeframe for completing investigations into estates of deceased individuals, some cases are more complex than others and take time to conclude. The Recovery from Estates (RFE) team within Debt Management contacts executors to provide historic financial information in order to carry out posthumous reviews of benefit entitlement. This often takes time to progress, which can extend the customer journey.
There has been an increase in the number of DWP RFE cases which has impacted on the length of time to respond to customers. More staff have been trained to deal with the increase in cases and delays to customer responses are being reduced. We are also reviewing our current processes to identify any further improvements to continue to reduce the time to process RFE cases.
Apr. 07 2025
Source Page: Family Court Statistics Quarterly: October to December 2024Found: of Probate 66787 : 2012||All|Grant of Probate|Solicitor 2012 All Solicitor Grant of Probate 122812
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
May. 23 2025
Source Page: Proposed changes to Council Tax discounts, disregarded persons and exemptionsFound: We will not restate the 50% discount but extend the period of exemption after probate has been granted
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.
Mentions:
1: Altaf Hussain (Welsh Conservative Party - None) have to make tough choices on top of the decisions they have already taken, such as cuts to teaching staff - Speech Link
2: Janet Finch-Saunders (Welsh Conservative Party - None) authorities in the new year, to ensure that (a) all empty properties are recorded adequately, and (b) that probate - Speech Link