His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) lacked a proper training system when digitising the Probate Service, leading to significant delays, Justice Minister Sarah Sackman KC has acknowledged.
Sackman admitted that staff had not fully understood the reforms, contributing to backlogs in processing applications. However, she assured that lessons from this experience had since been applied to other court modernisation projects, with improvements in testing and implementation processes.
Her comments were in response to a letter from former justice select committee chair Sir Bob Neill, whose inquiry into probate delays was cut short by the general election. In a letter to his successor, Andy Slaughter, Sackman outlined the key challenges faced since the digital service launched, processing over 1.5 million probate applications – 80% of which are now submitted online.
The modernisation project, which concluded in 2020, had encountered multiple obstacles beyond HMCTS’s control, including the pandemic. However, Sackman conceded that errors were made in how the service was reformed.
A review identified four main challenges:
- Loss of Experienced Staff – Centralising probate services into a single location led to a loss of skilled staff. In response, HMCTS revised its operating model, introducing regional hub sites to offer greater flexibility.
- Workforce Stability Issues – Heavy reliance on temporary staff created inconsistencies. Over the past 16 months, HMCTS has made efforts to stabilise its workforce by converting fixed-term contracts into permanent roles and strengthening its leadership team.
- Gaps in the Digital System – The digital service was not fully comprehensive, requiring some applications to be handled manually, creating bottlenecks. HMCTS has since adjusted its approach to service rollouts.
- Insufficient Training – There was no structured mechanism to train staff on system updates, and frequent changes limited available training hours. HMCTS has since improved its training program, with all staff now trained on grant of probate applications and over half trained on additional processes.
Recent data showed significant progress in reducing waiting times, with the average processing time dropping from 16 weeks to six and a half weeks by December 2024 – a 60% improvement.
To address ongoing delays, HMCTS piloted case surgeries in April 2024, offering appointments for users with older cases to expedite resolutions. The service also plans to hold more local sessions with probate professionals and expand guidance on the gov.uk website.
Sackman stated that while 2024 focused on recovery, 2025 will prioritise maintaining performance, resolving stalled cases, and preventing further delays. More detailed performance data is now available to monitor progress.
Jo Summers, a partner at Jurit and spokeswoman for STEP, acknowledged improvements but urged HMCTS to adopt further measures to clear the backlog of ‘stopped’ and dormant cases. She suggested rehiring experienced probate staff and outsourcing complex cases to specialist law firms.
According to HMCTS statistics, 27,241 cases remain on hold due to missing documentation, with 2,171 families still waiting over a year for probate to be granted.
