Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to the probate system on the average length of time taken to complete probate.

Since the launch of the new digital service in 2019, over 1.2 million probate applications have been processed on the new platform and around 80% of applications are made digitally. HMCTS is committed to continually improving the system, using feedback from our users to help shape future improvements. In addition, HMCTS has increased staffing levels and streamlined internal processes to improve waiting times.

Management information published by HMCTS (which does not go through the same level of quality assurance and analysis as the Family Court Statistics Quarterly) shows the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate, from receipt of documentation, reduced by 3 weeks in March 2024 to 9 weeks. Overall output has also increased, the first quarter of 2024 (January to March 2024) saw the highest quarterly number of grants issued since the statistics have been published, with 83,060 grants issued. This is a 32% increase on the same period in 2023.

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