Newly released data shows that waiting times for grants of probate have halved within six months – which the Ministry of Justice has credited to ‘decisive government action’ to reduce the backlog of cases that built up during Covid.
According to figures published by HM Courts & Tribunals Service last week, the waiting time for probate to be granted after a digital application is submitted fell from 8.1 weeks last June to 4.8 weeks in December. At the start of last year, it was taking 12.3 weeks. Waiting times for paper applications have also fallen – from 22.3 weeks at the start of last year to 14.6 weeks in December.
The Ministry of Justice attributed the progress to action taken to recruit extra staff.
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Courts minister Sarah Sackman said: ‘We know that handling probate can be tough for families at a difficult period in their lives. That is why we've worked hard to reduce delays and make the process easier. By cutting wait times and going digital, we're ensuring people receive the support they need quickly at what can be a challenging time.’
Probate waiting times got so bad that they prompted a House of Commons justice select committee inquiry, which heard that Cancer Research UK – the largest funder of cancer research in Europe – was unable to invest in dozens of projects due to delays.
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