National statistics

Family Court Statistics Quarterly: July to September 2023

Published 21 December 2023

1. Main Points

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There were 27,290 divorce applications under the new legislation this quarter	New divorce legislation came into effect from 6th April 2022. Between July to September 2023 there were 27,290 applications made (75% from sole applicants, 25% from joint applicants), including those for dissolution of civil partnerships
Little change in domestic violence remedy applications, with a decrease in the orders made.	The number of domestic violence remedy order applications decreased by less than 1% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022, while the number of orders made decreased by 9% over the same period.
Adoption applications increased while the number of orders decreased	In July to September 2023 there were 1,041 adoption applications, up 3% on the equivalent quarter in 2022. Conversely, the number of adoption orders issued decreased by 3% to 1,006.
Increase in deprivation of liberty applications and orders made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.	There were 1,655 applications under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 relating to deprivation of liberty in July to September 2023, up by less than 1% on the equivalent quarter in 2022. Orders increased by 93% in the latest quarter compared to the same period last year.
Increase in timeliness across all types of grants	Probate grants took approximately 14 weeks (mean average) to be issued after the application was submitted during July to September 2023 up more than 7 weeks 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 (July to September 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) 2022

• 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

• The total number of adoption cases disposed are not provided.

These series will be reinstated once both data sources have been combined and the data quality assured.

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.

Domestic violence timeliness (Table 10) has also been removed due to issues with data quality. We hope to restore this as soon as possible.

Judicial Separations has been removed from Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2023 (Table 12) due to issues with separately identifying the cases on CCD.

3. Statistician’s comment

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This quarter’s publication introduces new statistics on Deprivation of Liberty applications (table 22), which differ to the existing statistics on applications relating to the Mental Capacity Act made in the Court of Protection (table 21). The new statistics relate to applications for those aged under 18 and are made in the High Court. In July to September 2023, there were 388 Deprivation of Liberty applications made in the High Court. Almost half of these were for children aged 13 and 15.

Following the introduction of new divorce law last year, there is now over a year’s worth of data available. In July to September 2023, there were 27,290 divorce applications, down from 12% in the same quarter last year (which was the second quarter following the start of new divorce law). Under the new law, applications took on average 28 weeks to reach conditional order and 38 weeks to final order. On average, joint applications were quicker than sole applications but the majority of applications (75%) came from sole applicants.

Timeliness measures for adoption and financial remedy to first disposal decreased in the latest quarter compared to the year before. Private law remained similar to the same period last year (29.8 weeks to first disposal in the latest quarter in comparison to 29.4 weeks in the same period last year), though time to final order in private law applications increased by almost a week to 45 weeks.

Probate applications took longer however, on average 14 weeks from application submission to grant issue double the time taken the year before. Digital probate grants that were not stopped formed the majority of grant types and took on average 10.5 weeks from application submission to grant issue.

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4. Overview of the Family Justice System

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During July to September 2023, there was an increase in financial remedy and public law cases starting; at the same time there were decreases in matrimonial, private law and domestic violence cases. Closed cases have increased in most areas but there has been a slight fall in public law case disposals.

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

In July to September 2023, 43% of new cases (excluding adoption case starts) within family courts related to matrimonial matters, down from the equivalent quarter of 2022.

There were decreases in most case type starts compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022: matrimonial (12%), private law (6%) and domestic violence (1%); at the same time there have been increases in financial remedy (17%) and public law case starts (5%). In contrast there were increases in most case types reaching a final disposal: matrimonial (31%), financial remedy (25%), domestic violence (8%) and private law (1%) cases. However, there was a decrease in public law (1%) case disposals. (Table 1)

Timeliness by Case Type

The mean average time for divorce and annulment cases to reach first disposal was 41 weeks in July to September 2023 - 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.

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, 77% 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 (0.3%) (Table 7).

HMCTS monthly management information

The statistics in this publication focus on the period between July to September 2023; however, monthly management information (MI) has been published by HMCTS that covers up to October 2023. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/hmcts-management-information-october-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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Increase in the number of public law case starts

There were 4,243 public law cases starting in July to September 2023, up 5% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022 (Table 2).

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There were 6,681 individual children involved in new public law applications in July to September 2023, down 1% on the same quarter in the previous year, while the number of applications made increased by 4%. In July to September 2023, public law care applications made up 68% of public law orders applied for (3,253) (Figure 2).

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

6. Children Act - Private Law

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Decrease in the number of private law case starts and increase in the number of cases disposed

The number of private law cases^{[footnote 1]} started decreased by 6% (to 12,918) in July to September 2023 compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022. The number of applications made decreased by 5% over the same period.

The number of private law cases disposed of during July to September 2023 was up 1% on the equivalent quarter in 2022, with the number of disposals down by 3% (Table 2).

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There were 13,420 new private law applications made in July to September 2023, down 5% on the equivalent quarter in 2022, with 19,908 individual children involved in these applications.

The number of private law disposals in July to September 2023 was 29,511, down 3% on the equivalent quarter in 2022.

Timeliness of Private law cases

In July to September 2023, it took on average 45 weeks for private law cases to reach a final order, i.e. case closure, up almost 1 week 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 July to September 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 July to September 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, similar to July to September 2022.

Correspondingly, the proportion of cases where both parties had legal representation went from 41% in January to March 2013 to 18% in July to September 2023, up 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 July to September 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 July to September 2023.

The proportion of parties with legal representation in cases with at least one hearing varies by case type and range from around 75% for public law cases to 2% for adoption cases, with figures subject to change as new cases progress (Table 11).

8. Divorce

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There were 27,290 divorce applications made between July to September 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 July to September 2023 there were 27,290 applications made (75% from sole applicants, 25% from joint applicants) (Table 12b). This was a decrease of 12% from the same quarter in 2022 where applications were still quite high due to the recent introduction of the new divorce law.

There were 25,824 final orders granted in July to September 2023 (20,229 granted under the new divorce law whlist 5,595 decree absolutes/final orders were granted under old divorce law) up 31% compared to the same quarter in 2022 (Table 12)

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

In July to September 2023 the mean average time from application to conditional order (91% granted under the new divorce legislation) was 41 weeks down 2 weeks from the same quarter of 2022 (Table 12).

The mean average time from application to final order (78% granted under the new divorce legislation) was 65 weeks, down 1 week from the equivalent quarter 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 25,907 applications made during July to September 2023 (95% of the total, similar to the same period of 2022). The average time to conditional order (91% of the total) for July to September 2023 was 32 weeks, and 46 weeks from application to final order (78% of the total).

Sole and Joint divorce cases

For sole divorce cases, there were 20,563 applications made during July to September 2023 (75% of the total down 3% from the same period of 2022). The average time to conditional order for July to September 2023 was 32 weeks, and 41 weeks from application to final order.

For joint divorce cases, there were 6,727 applications made during July to September 2023 (25% of the total up 3% from the same period of 2022). The average time to conditional order for July to September 2023 was 28 weeks, and 37 weeks from application to final order. On average joint cases are quicker than sole cases in reaching conditional and final order.

Figure 5: Divorce applications made between Q2 2022 to Q3 2023, by applicant type (Source: Table 12b)

9. Financial Remedy

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Increase seen in financial remedy applications and disposals events

In July to September 2023, the number of financial remedy applications was up 15% and the number of disposal events was up 20% compared to the same period in 2022 (Table 14).

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There were 11,118 financial remedy applications made in July to September 2023, up 15% from the same period in 2022, while there were 10,512 financial remedy disposals events, up 20%. During this period, 70% of applications were uncontested and 30% were contested.

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

10. Domestic Violence Remedy Orders

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Decrease in the number of domestic violence remedy orders, with minimal change in applications made

In July to September 2023, there was a less than 1% decrease in applications made 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 decreased by 9% over the same period (Table 15).

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In July to September 2023, there were 8,063 domestic violence remedy applications, similar to the same quarter in 2022, requesting a total of 9,271 orders (multiple orders can be applied for in a single application). Most of the orders applied for were non-molestation orders (83%) compared to occupation orders (17%); these proportions have remained relatively consistent in recent years. Applications for non-molestation orders in July to September 2023 were down, by 2% whereas applications for occupation orders were up, by 4% respectively, compared to the same period in 2022.

There were 9,222 domestic violence orders made in July to September 2023, down 9% from the same period last year. 94% were non-molestation orders and 6% were occupation orders, with non-molestation orders down by 9% and occupation orders down by 8% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022.

Figure 7: Applications for domestic violence remedy orders, January to March 2009 to July to September 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 been a long-term upward trend from their introduction in November 2008 until the end of 2019 with a less pronounced increase thereafter.

In July to September 2023, there were 85 applications, the highest level since Q1 2020, of which 72% of applications were for people aged 17 and under. Over the same period, there were 136 orders made, up 43% since the same period from the previous year and the highest in the time series.

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 July to September 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 7 applications and 13 orders made in July to September 2023 respectively (Table 17). In total, there have been 600 applications and 860 orders up to end of September 2023, since their introduction in July 2015.

12. Adoptions

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Increase in the number of adoption applications and a decrease in orders made, the latter consistent with the long-term trend

During July to September 2023, there were 1,041 adoption applications made, up 3% from the equivalent quarter in 2022. Over the same period, the number of adoption orders issued decreased by 3% to 1,006 (Tables 18 and 19).

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There were 1,859 total disposals in July to September 2023, a decrease of 5% 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 July to September 2023, 54% of all adoption orders were issued to mixed-sex couples, 18% to sole applicants, 17% to same-sex couples and 10% to step-parents.

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

13. Mental Capacity Act - Court of Protection

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Increase in both applications and orders made in relation to deprivation of liberty under the Mental Capacity Act 2005

There are two figures related to deprivation of liberty. The first are those made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 which cover people over 18 and are made by the Court of Protection, and the second refers to the ability of the High Court to make deprivation of liberty orders for people under 18. The figures in this section refer to the former.

There were 1,655 applications relating to deprivation of liberty under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 made in the most recent quarter, which is an increase of less than 1% on the number made in the same quarter in 2022. Furthermore, there was an increase by 93% in the orders made for deprivation of liberty over the same period from 637 to 1,232.

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

There were 9,956 applications made in July to September 2023, up by 10%, the highest quarterly volume for applications since the start of the series. During the same period there were 15,638 orders made, up by 29%.

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In July to September 2023, there were 9,956 applications made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), up by 10% on the equivalent quarter in 2022 (9,045 applications). Of those, 35% related to applications for appointment of a property and affairs deputy (Table 20). Applications are generally increasing due to an aging population and an increase in the number of Lasting Power of Attorneys being made.

In comparison, there were 15,638 orders made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), up by 29% on the same quarter in 2022. Of those, 37% related to orders by an existing deputy or registered attorney (Table 21).

Deprivation of Liberty applications made under the Mental Capacity Act

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 1,655 applications in July to September 2023. Whilst deprivation of liberty orders made increased by 93% from 637 last year to 1,232 in the latest quarter, higher than in previous quarters due to efforts being made by the courts to increase the number of orders made and clear backlogs.

Figure 10: Deprivation of Liberty applications and orders under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, January to March 2011 to July to September 2023 (Source: Table 21)

Deprivation of Liberty applications made under the High Court

There are also deprivation of liberty applications made to the High Court which has the power to make deprivation of liberty orders for children under 18. There were 388 applications for this purpose handling the same number of children. Most of these children were teenagers with 48% of them being between 13 and 15 years old and 27% being between 16 and 18 years old (Table 22). These are different from the deprivation of liberty applications and orders made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 which relate to people over 18.

This is new data, and we intend to publish data on orders from next quarter.

14. Mental Capacity Act - Office of the Public Guardian

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Continuing increasing trend in Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs)

In July to September 2023, there were 302,277 LPAs registered, the highest in its series and up 51% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022 (Table 23).

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In total there were 303,786 Powers of Attorney (POAs) registered in July to September 2023, up 50% from the same quarter in 2022 (Table 23). In July to September 2023, 57% of POAs registered were from female donors whilst 42% were from male donors and 52% were over 75 years old. Lasting Power of Attorney (LPAs) made up almost all (99.5%) of POAs registered in July to September 2023, with Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) making up the other 0.5%. There were 1,509 EPAs registered in July to September 2023, similar to 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. The more recent increase in LPAs is part of the trend seen of more applications being made over time as the population ages.

Figure 11: Powers of Attorney registered, January to March 2008 to July to September 2023 (Source: Table 23)

15. Probate Service

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Probate grants issued more quickly than other grants of representation

Probate grants took approximately 14 weeks to be issued after the application was submitted during July to September 2023. Letters of administration with a will and without a will took around 24 and 15 weeks respectively (Table 25).

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

In July to September 2023, there were 61,894 applications for probate grants. 56,722 probate grants were issued in the same period. 86% of these applications and 89% of these grants issued were made digitally, compared to 87% and 90% respectively in the same quarter in 2022 (Table 24).

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There were 75,607 applications made for grants of representation in July to September 2023. 61,894 (82%) of these were for probate grants, of which 86% were made digitally (Table 24).

Probate grants also make up the majority (80%) of all grants issued. In July to September 2023, 56% of the grants issued were applied for by legal professionals and 44% were personal applications (Table 24). For the 56,722 probate grants issued in the same period, 89% were issued digitally.

Timeliness of probate grants

The mean average time from application submission to grant issue for probate grants was 14 weeks (median average 12 weeks) overall. The mean time between application submission and grant being issued is the highest it’s been since 2019, and double the previous year which represents work to focus on the oldest cases. The mean average time for the majority of grants (digital probate grants for applications not stopped which formed 64% of total probate grants issued) took approximately 10.5 weeks from application submission to grant issue and 7.1 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 July to September 2023 took 23 weeks on average to be issued, compared to 11 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 3 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 24 and 15 weeks respectively for July to September 2023, though these formed a smaller proportion of all grants issued, 4% and 16% 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 July to September 2023 (Source: Table 25)

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 are ‘accredited official statistics’ that meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value.

Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in January 2019. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.

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:

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

Next update: 28 March 2024

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). ↩