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<p>The recent, temporary increase in waiting times was caused by a combination of
an increased volume of incoming work and the transition to a new case management system.
The move to the new system meant that staff had to spend time being trained and familiarising
themselves with it. There were also some initial performance issues which have now
been resolved.</p><p> </p><p>At the end of June 2019, 93% of users indicated, from
five feedback options, that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the online
application service provided.</p><p> </p><p>Urgent action has been taken to address
the delays which have been experienced in the probate service. Her Majesty’s Courts
& Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is increasing staffing levels and further improving
the digital service to help reduce waiting times.</p><p> </p><p>Official statistics
are not published on the average length of time from receipt of the application to
the issue of a grant of probate and letters of administration. HMCTS internal management
information, which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official
statistics, has been used to show the following average times from receipt of an application
to a grant being issued:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month and year </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average
Weeks to grant issued </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February
2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April
2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June
2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August
2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October
2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December
2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2019</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February
2019</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2019</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>
</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2019</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May
2019</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2019</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>These figures do not include cases which are waiting for a grant to be issued.
The data from April 2019 to June 2019 have been extracted from the HMCTS Reform Core
Case Data system, which is a new system in active development, and may not be directly
comparable with figures for earlier periods. All figures, especially those for April
2019 to June 2019, are provisional and subject to revision.</p><p> </p><p>Some grants
are experiencing delays of between four and six weeks outside of our targets as a
result of significant increases in work during March and April and some technology
issues which have now been resolved. We have recruited more staff and are now issuing
in excess of 1,000 grants a day, which is bringing waiting times down further.</p>
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