Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time between the (1) application for, and (2) issuing of, an A1 (CA3837) document for UK self-employed workers; and whether they have any plans to reduce the processing time for such applications.

The average time it is taking HMRC to process/issue A1s received online is 15 weeks as it stands today. HMRC processes 3 different applications forms (CA3822, CA3837 and CA8421) that can result in A1s being issued.

It is not possible to break it down to average processing times for each application due to the complexities of HMRC’s internal digital mail systems.

In quarter 3, HMRC plans to upskill additional colleagues to help process the backlog of CA3822s and this will include CA3837s and CA8421s which will help to reduce processing times.

HMRC intend to automate the CA3837 application process in the Autumn which will improve processing times and remove opportunities for error.