National statistics

Family Court Statistics Quarterly: January to March 2023

Updated 14 September 2023

1. Main Points

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There were 28,865 divorce applications under the new legislation this quarter	New divorce legislation came into effect from 6th April 2022. Between January to March 2023 there were 28,865 applications made (76% from sole applicants, 24% from joint applicants), including those for dissolution of civil partnerships.
The number of domestic violence remedy order applications and orders remain the same	The number of domestic violence remedy order applications slightly increased by less than 1% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022, while the number of orders made remained the same over the same period.
Increase in the number of both adoption applications and orders	In January to March 2023 there were 1,085 adoption applications, up 6% on the equivalent quarter in 2022. Similarly, the number of adoption orders issued increased by 17% to 1,048.
Decrease in deprivation of liberty applications and increase in orders made	There were 1,554 applications relating to deprivation of liberty in January to March 2023, down 7% on the equivalent quarter in 2022. Orders increased by 58% in the latest quarter compared to the same period last year.
Increase in timeliness across all types of grants	Probate grants took approximately 9 weeks (mean average) to be issued after the application was submitted during January to March 2023, up just over 1 week on the equivalent quarter in 2022.

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This publication presents statistics on activity in the family courts of England and Wales and provides figures for the latest quarter (January to March 2023). For further information and technical details please refer to the accompanying Guide to Family Court Statistics.

For feedback related to the content of this publication, please let us know at familycourt.statistics@justice.gov.uk

2. Data Quality Issues

The rollout of reform in family courts has introduced a new data management system, Core Case Data (CCD), to collect family data. As each service area undergoes reform, existing cases stay on the legacy system FamilyMan (FM) until they are disposed or closed, while new cases are recorded on CCD with some key details copied back to FM.

Currently, family public law (FPL) is undergoing this reform process. However, not all details are copied across for FPL (such as substantive orders other than final). Until work is completed to amalgamate both FM and CCD, several published data series cannot be maintained.

These series have been removed from Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2022 onwards unless otherwise stated:

• The total number of public law disposals (Table 2)

• The number of orders granted and children involved in orders granted by order type (Table 4)

• The number of public law cases started indicated as High Court (Table 7) from Q3 (Jul-Sept)

• Care and supervision proceedings timeliness (Table 8)

• Overall public law timeliness (Table 10)

• The number of Placement Order Applications from Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2022 (Table 18). As a result, the total number of cases started and the total number of applications under the Adoption and Children Act are not provided

These series will be reinstated once both data sources have been combined.

Data for divorce hearings for Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2022 onwards (Table 13) also cannot be maintained due to the capability of collecting the hearings data for new divorce law not yet being available and the limited reasons for contesting a divorce case within the new law.

3. Statistician’s comment

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During January to March 2023, the number of financial remedy cases starting increased compared to the equivalent period last year and private law cases and domestic violence remedy cases starting remained broadly similar. Matrimonial matters and public law cases starting decreased (by 4% and 7% respectively) compared to the same period last year. Almost all closed cases have increased over the same period, with private law and domestic violence remedy cases reaching final disposal the highest in their series.

Our data now shows the first full year since the new divorce legislation was introduced, and nearly 120,000 couples applied for divorce in the first year. The data we can present continues to expand in this release, and there were 18,164 final orders made in January to March 2023 under the new legislation, and the majority of applications were from sole applicants.

Some timeliness measures have seen increases, such as private law cases which slightly increased from the same period last year (36.3 weeks to final order compared with 36.0 last year) whilst financial remedy cases took a shorter amount of time to reach first definitive disposal.

There were a record number of applications made for grants of probate (69,208). The mean average time between application submission to grant issue is the highest it’s been since 2019 (9.2 weeks) and represents work to focus on the oldest cases.

As the migration to an online public law service has rolled out, there continue to be key data issues to be handled. The main data source remains to be the existing FamilyMan system, with limited aggregate data available from the new Core Case Data (CCD) system for the new digital process. As a result, a number of data series regarding public law have not been updated until both FamilyMan and CCD are amalgamated (particularly impacting related timeliness metrics). Please see ‘Data Quality Issues’ for further information.

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4. Overview of the Family Justice System

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During January to March 2023, there was an increase in financial remedy cases starting and private law cases were similar to the same period last year; at the same time there have been decreases in new public law, matrimonial and domestic violence remedy cases. Closed cases have increased in most areas where a record high for closing domestic violence remedy cases can be seen, following the record levels of applications seen during the pandemic.

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Figure 1: Cases started and disposed, by case type, January to March 2011 to January to March 2023 (Source: Table 1)

In January to March 2023, 45% of new cases (excluding adoption case starts) within family courts related to matrimonial matters, similar to the equivalent quarter of 2022.

There were decreases in most case type starts when comparing to the equivalent quarter in 2022: public law (7%), matrimonial (4%), and domestic violence (0.8%) cases. However, there was an increase in financial remedy (7%) cases. In contrast there were increases in most case types disposed: public law (2%), private law (8%), matrimonial (15%), and domestic violence cases disposed (16%) with domestic violence cases disposed reaching a record high (6,914).

Timeliness by Case Type

The mean average time for divorce and annulment cases to reach first disposal in January to March 2023 was 38 weeks – this includes both old and new divorce cases, with the former covering applications which would have been made some time ago, and the latter incorporating a 20-week wait between application and the conditional order.

Private law cases took longer, with the mean average time to first disposal in January to March 2023 taking 32 weeks, up almost 2 weeks compared to the same period in 2022. This is the longest time for private law cases to reach first disposal in the time series.

Domestic violence cases took an average of 1.5 weeks in January to March 2023, similar to the previous quarter and is the highest in the time series.

Public and private law cases – number of parties, and High Court cases

The vast majority of private law cases involve one applicant and one respondent only (Table 6). However, for public law cases whilst nearly all cases have only one applicant, 74% involve two or more respondents.

Private law cases indicated as being a High Court case remained lower than 1%, in line with the long-term trend. In the latest quarter, a smaller proportion of private law cases started were indicated as being a High Court case (0.4%) (Table 7).

HMCTS monthly management information

The statistics in this publication focus on the period between January to March 2023; however, monthly management information (MI) has been published by HMCTS that covers up to April 2023. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/hmcts-management-information-april-2023. This MI is subject to the data quality issues associated with extracting data from large live administrative case management systems. Late reporting of cases and regular updating of case details, which can lead to the figures being updated to manage the case - more recent figures may therefore be subject to larger revisions and should be treated with greater care and considered provisional.

5. Children Act - Public Law

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Decrease in the number of public law case starts

There were 3,945 public law cases starting in January to March 2023, down 7% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022 (Table 2).

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There were 6,441 individual children involved in new public law applications in January to March 2023, down 10% on the same quarter in the previous year, while the number of applications made also decreased by 10%. In January to March 2023, public law care applications made up 70% of public law orders applied for (3,055) (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Public law applications by order type, January to March 2023 (Source: Table 3)

6. Children Act - Private Law

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Increase in the number of private law cases disposed with case starts remaining the same

During January to March 2023, there were 13,221 private law case^{[footnote 1]} starts, similar to the equivalent quarter in 2022. The number of applications made was also similar over the same period.

The number of private law cases disposed of during January to March 2023 was up 8% on the equivalent quarter in 2022, with the number of disposals remaining similar (Table 2).

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There were 13,936 new private law applications made in January to March 2023, similar to the equivalent quarter in 2022, with 20,575 individual children involved in these applications.

The number of private law disposals in January to March 2023 was 42,084, a slight increase of 0.6% compared to the same quarter in 2022. The number of private law cases disposed (11,976) reached the highest in its series and increased by 8% compared to the same quarter in 2022.

Timeliness of Private law cases

In January to March 2023, it took on average 47 weeks for private law cases to reach a final order, i.e. case closure, up almost 4 weeks from the same period in 2022. This continues the upward trend seen since the middle of 2016, where the number of new cases overtook the number of disposals (Table 9).

Figure 3: Private law timeliness from case start date to final order in the family court, January to March 2011 to January to March 2023 (Source: Table 9)

7. Legal Representation

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Cases with legal representation take longer on average

In general, cases where either both parties or the respondent only had legal representation took longer to be disposed of than those cases where only the applicant was represented or where both parties were without legal representation (Table 10).

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Legal representation in private law cases

The removal of legal aid for many private law cases in April 2013 resulted in a change in the pattern of legal representation over time^{[footnote 2]},^{[footnote 3]}. In January to March 2023, the proportion of disposals where neither the applicant nor respondent had legal representation was 40%, increasing by 26 percentage points since January to March 2013, and up 1 percentage point from January to March 2022.

Correspondingly, the proportion of cases where both parties had legal representation went from 41% in January to March 2013 to 18% in January to March 2023, down 1 percentage point compared to the same period in 2022 (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Proportion of private law disposals by type of legal representation of the parties, January to March 2012 to January to March 2023 (Source: Table 10)

The change seen in the pattern of legal representation is also demonstrated in private law cases with at least one hearing where the proportion of parties with legal representation stood at 59% in 2012 compared to 29% in January to March 2023.

The proportion of parties with legal representation in cases with at least one hearing varies by case type and range from around 77% for public law cases to 3% for adoption cases, with figures subject to change as new cases progress (Table 11).

8. Divorce

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There were 28,865 divorce applications made between January to March 2023 under the new legislation

New divorce legislation came into effect from 6th April 2022, which aims to reduce the potential for conflict amongst divorcing couples by:

• removing the ability to make allegations about the conduct of a spouse
• allowing couples to end their marriage jointly.

Please note that the new divorce legislation introduced new terminology and new mandatory waiting periods at key stages. For further information, please see the guide that accompanies this publication.

Between January to March 2023 there were 28,865 applications made (76% from sole applicants, 24% from joint applicants) (Table 12b). This was a decrease of 5% from the same quarter in 2022 where applications were made under the previous legislation.

There were 27,465 final orders in January to March 2023 (18,164 granted under the new divorce law, whilst 9,301 decree absolutes/final orders granted under old divorce law) an increase of 15% compared to the same quarter in 2022 (Table 12).

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Increase in the average time for all (old and new) divorce proceedings

In January to March 2023, the mean average time from application to conditional order (88% granted under the new divorce legislation) was 38 weeks, up 12 weeks from January to March 2022.

The mean average time from application to final order (66% granted under the new divorce legislation) was 64 weeks, up 7.5 weeks from the same period in 2022.

Please note that, due to the mandatory waiting period between applying for divorce and applying for the conditional order (CO), this means that any new cases started since 6 April 2022 would have had to have waited at least 20 weeks before getting to the CO stage. For cases applied for under the old law, our timeliness measure will be calculating durations for those cases which represent the tail end of cases applied for some time ago, and by definition this measure will be relatively high and will increase over time until all cases applied for under the old law are dealt with.

Digital divorce cases

For digital divorce cases (i.e. those dealt with the Courts and Tribunals Service Centres that are digital at all stages), there were 27,656 applications made during January to March 2023 (96% of the total, up from 88% in the same period of 2022). The average time to conditional order (89% of the total) for January to March 2023 was 31 weeks, and 42 weeks on average from application to final order (79% of the total).

Figure 5: Divorce petitions/applications made between July to September 2019 to January to March 2023, by case type (Source: Table 12)

9. Financial Remedy

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Increase seen in financial remedy applications, decrease in disposal events

In January to March 2023, the number of financial remedy applications was up 5% and the number of disposal events was down 7% compared to the same period in 2022 (Table 14).

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There were 11,432 financial remedy applications made in January to March 2023, up 5% from the same period in 2022, while there were 10,744 financial remedy disposals events, down 7%. During this period, 73% of applications were uncontested and 27% were contested.

Figure 6: Applications for financial remedy orders, January to March 2009 to January to March 2023 (Source: Table 14)

10. Domestic Violence Remedy Orders

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The number of domestic violence remedy order applications and orders remain the same although the long-term trend is increasing

In January to March 2023, there was a similar number of applications made, with a 0.4% increase, compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022. The overall picture highlights a longer-term increase in the number of applications, with the number of applications in the latest quarter almost double those made since the series began in 2011. The number of orders made remained the same over the same period. (Table 15).

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In January to March 2023, there were 8,275 domestic violence remedy applications, similar to the same quarter in 2022, requesting a total of 9,524 orders (multiple orders can be applied for in a single application). Most of the orders applied for were non-molestation orders (84%) compared to occupation orders (16%); these proportions have remained relatively consistent in recent years. Applications for non-molestation orders in January to March 2023 remained at a similar level compared to the same period in 2022, while occupation order applications decreased by 1%.

There were 9,516 domestic violence orders made in January to March 2023, unchanged from the same period last year. 95% were non-molestation orders and 5% were occupation orders, with numbers remaining similar to the equivalent quarter in 2022.

Figure 7: Applications for domestic violence remedy orders, January to March 2009 to January to March 2023 (Source: Table 15)

11. Forced Marriage Protection Orders and Female Genital Mutilation Protection Orders

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Long term upward trend in the number of forced marriage protection orders and female genital mutilation protection orders (Table 16 and 17)

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The number of applications and orders made for forced marriage protection orders (FMPOs) is very small. Consequently, numbers fluctuate each quarter but overall, there has broadly been a long-term upward trend from their introduction in November 2008 until the end of 2019.

In January to March 2023, there were 51 applications. Whilst the number of applications remains similar to the equivalent quarter in 2022, almost all applications were previously for those aged 17 and under. However, in the latest quarter this forms a smaller proportion and of the 51 applications, 73% of these were for people aged 17 and under. Over the same period, there were 81 orders made, up 19% since the same period from the previous year.

An increase in the number of orders does not necessarily represent an increase in the prevalence of forced marriage, but potentially it relates to a greater awareness of forced marriage being a crime and the support available. Particularly during 2019 where the government held events with relevant groups (local authorities, police, charities etc.), designed specifically to raise awareness of FMPOs and how they can be used to protect those at risk. In 2020, health education became compulsory across all state-funded schools in England, where Relationship Education is compulsory in primary schools and Relationship and Sex Education (RES) is compulsory in secondary schools to spread awareness of forced marriages.

Historically the numbers of orders made outweigh the number of applications. Often there are multiple orders granted per case, where one application covers more than one person, and an order is granted for each person covered in the application. Extensions and increased provision of previous orders can also be granted as new orders, without the need for a new application to be submitted.

Figure 8: Applications and orders made for Forced Marriage Protection Orders, January to March 2009 to January to March 2023 (Source: Table 16)

As with FMPOs, the number of applications and orders made for female genital mutilation protection orders (FGMPOs) is very small, with only 17 applications and 32 orders made respectively in January to March 2023 (Table 17). In total, there have been 587 applications and 840 orders made up to end of March 2023, since their introduction in July 2015.

12. Adoptions

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Increase in the number of adoption applications and orders, despite the longer-term trend showing a fall in adoptions

During January to March 2023, there were 1,085 adoption applications made, up 6% from the equivalent quarter in 2022. Over the same period, the number of adoption orders issued also increased by 17% to 1,048. The overall picture highlights a longer-term decrease in the number of applications and orders with the highest number of adoption applications and orders in 2014 Q1 (1,831) and 2014 Q3 (1,768) respectively (Tables 18 and 19).

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There were 1,592 total disposals in January to March 2023, a decrease of 17% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022.

The chart below shows the trend of adoption orders by the type of adopter. This shows that during January to March 2023, 54% of all adoption orders were issued to mixed-sex couples, 21% to sole applicants, 17% to same-sex couples and 7% to step-parents.

Figure 9: Adoption orders issued, by adopter, January to March 2011 to January to March 2023 (Source: Table 19)

13. Mental Capacity Act - Court of Protection

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Decrease in applications with an increase in orders made in relation to deprivation of liberty

There were 1,554 applications relating to deprivation of liberty made in the most recent quarter, which is a decrease of 7% on the number made in the same quarter in 2022. However, there was an increase by 58% in the orders made for deprivation of liberty over the same period from 656 to 1,035.

An increase in both applications and orders under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA)

There were 8,948 applications made in January to March 2023, up by 3%. During the same period there were 12,803 orders made, up by 14%.

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Since the Supreme Court clarified the definition of deprivation of liberty in 2014, there has been a significant increase in the number of applications. There were 15 applications in January to March 2013 which increased to a high of 1,744 in July to September 2020. There were 1,554 applications in January to March 2023. Whilst deprivation of liberty orders made saw an increase by 58% from 656 last year to 1,035 in the latest quarter, the number of orders made was similar to the equivalent quarters in both 2020 and 2021.

Figure 10: Deprivation of Liberty applications and orders, January to March 2008 to January to March 2023 (Source: Table 21)

In January to March 2023, there were 8,948 applications made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), up by 3% on the equivalent quarter in 2022 (8,709 applications). Of those, 34% related to applications for appointment of a property and affairs deputy (Table 20).

In comparison, there were 12,803 orders made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), up by 14% on the same quarter in 2022. Of those, 36% related to orders by an existing deputy or registered attorney (Table 21).

14. Mental Capacity Act - Office of the Public Guardian

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Continuing increasing trend in Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs)

In January to March 2023, there were 269,537 LPAs registered, the highest in its series and up 33% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022 (Table 22).

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In total there were 271,014 Powers of Attorney (POAs) registered in January to March 2023, up 33% from the same quarter in 2022 (Table 22). In January to March 2023, over half (57%) of POAs registered were from female donors whilst 41% were from male donors and over half (54%) were over 75 years old.

Lasting Power of Attorney (LPAs) made up 99% of POAs registered in January to March 2023, with Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) making up the other 1%. There were 1,477 EPAs registered in January to March 2023, up 1% on the equivalent quarter in 2022.

The sharp increase in LPAs seen during 2015 and 2016 was largely due to increased publicity and the new online forms introduced in July 2015 making it simpler and faster to apply.

Figure 11: Powers of Attorney registered, January to March 2008 to January to March 2023 (Source: Table 22)

15. Probate Service

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Probate grants issued more quickly than other grants of representation

Probate grants took approximately 9 weeks to be issued after the application was submitted during January to March 2023. Letters of administration with a will and without a will took around 25 and 14 weeks respectively (Table 24).

Increase in both the proportion of digital applications for probate grants and probate grants issued digitally

In January to March 2023, there were 69,208 applications for probate grants. 50,318 probate grants were issued in the same period. 89% of these applications and 90% of these grants issued were made digitally, compared to 86% and 85% respectively in the same quarter in 2022 (Table 23).

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There were 82,871 applications made for grants of representation in January to March 2023. 69,208 (84%) of these were for probate grants, of which 89% were made digitally (Table 23).

Probate grants also make up the majority (76%) of all grants issued. In January to March 2023, 63% of the grants issued were applied for by legal professionals and 37% were personal applications (Table 23). For the 50,318 probate grants issued in the same period, 90% were issued digitally.

Timeliness of probate grants

The mean average time from application submission to grant issue for probate grants was 9 weeks overall, an increase of just over 1 week compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022 (median average 5 weeks, a decrease of less than 1 week compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022). The mean time between application submission and grant being issued is the highest it’s been since 2019, and represents work to focus on the oldest cases, which also explains why the same impacts haven’t been seen on the median measure. Whilst the mean average time for the majority of grants (digital probate grants for applications not stopped formed 69% of total probate grants issued) took approximately 4.6 weeks from application submission to grant issue and was maintained at 2.6 weeks from document receipt to grant issue.

Timeliness of grants issued can be affected if the case has been ‘stopped’ for any reason (which can occur when there’s a dispute about either who can apply for probate or issues with a will or proposed will, or if an error is identified and a request for further information made). Probate grants that were stopped during January to March 2023 took 20 weeks on average to be issued, compared to 6 weeks for those that were not stopped.

When looking at the time from document receipt (i.e. when payment has been made and the application and all accompanying documents are ready for examination) to grant issue, this is around 2 weeks quicker than the average time from application submission for probate grants.

Averages for letters of administration with a will and without a will were 25 and 14 weeks respectively for January to March 2023, though these formed a smaller proportion of all grants issued, 4% and 20% respectively (Figure 12).

Figure 12: Average (mean) time for grants of representation issued from application submission by the Probate Service, July to September 2019 to January to March 2023 (Source: Table 24)

16. Further information

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The data presented in this publication are from live administrative databases. Therefore, previously published data is liable to be updated in the latest bulletin, following any further data cleaning or the incorporation of additional cases not available in the extracts used to produce previous bulletins.

Accompanying files

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

• A technical guide providing further information on how the data is collected and processed, as well as information on the revisions policy and legislation relevant to family court and background on the functioning of the family justice system

• A set of overview tables and CSV files, covering each section of this bulletin

National Statistics status

National Statistics status means that official statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value.

All official statistics should comply with all aspects of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. They are awarded National Statistics status following an assessment by the Authority’s regulatory arm. The Authority considers whether the statistics meet the highest standards of Code compliance, including the value they add to public decisions and debate.

It is the Ministry of Justice’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected for National Statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Authority promptly. National Statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored.

Contact

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:

Tel: 0203 334 3536

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to:

Carly Gray, Head of Access to Justice Data and Statistics, using the following email address familycourt.statistics@justice.gov.uk

Next update: 28 September 2023

URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly

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Produced by the Ministry of Justice

Alternative formats are available on request from familycourt.statistics@justice.gov.uk

1. The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) also publishes (England only) data on the number of private law cases. A comparison of Cafcass and MoJ data and further information can be found in the accompanying guide. ↩

2. Please see the accompanying guide for further details. ↩

3. Removal of Legal Aid was a result of the Legal Aid, Sentencing & Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). ↩