Accredited official statistics

Family Court Statistics Quarterly; July to September 2024

Published 19 December 2024

© Crown copyright 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2024/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2024

1. Main Points
On average, care proceedings took less time than in the same quarter last year with more disposals within 26 weeks. The average time for a care or supervision case to reach first disposal was 40 weeks in July to September 2024, down 3 weeks compared to the same quarter in 2023. 34% of cases were disposed of within 26 weeks - up 4 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023.  
There were 27,003 divorce applications under no fault divorce legislation this quarter Between July to September 2024 there were 27,003 applications made (74% from sole applicants, 26% from joint applicants), including those for dissolution of civil partnerships.  
Decrease in both domestic violence remedy applications and orders made. Both the number of domestic violence remedy order applications and orders made decreased by 3% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023.  
Adoption applications decrease while the number of orders increase In July to September 2024 there were 954 adoption applications, down 9% on the equivalent quarter in 2023. The number of adoption orders issued increased by 4% to 1,060.  
Decrease in timeliness for probate grants issued Probate grants took approximately 7 weeks (mean average) to be issued after the application was submitted during July to September 2024, down around 7 weeks on the longest time in the series in equivalent quarter in 2023. This is while the number of applications increased by 2% over the same period.  

This publication presents statistics on activity in the family courts of England and Wales and provides figures for the latest quarter (July to September 2024). 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 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.

Recently, family public law (FPL) completed this reform process and work has been completed to amalgamate both FM and CCD. Several published data series have been reinstated ater being removed from Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2022 ownards, however additional work is required to process the data required for other series. The series where work is ongoing:

  • The total number of public law applications has been paused (Table 2). This series will be reinstated as soon as possible.

  • A potential data issue has been identified in the number of orders granted and children involved in orders granted by order type (Table 4). These figures have been published with caveats so please treat with caution.

  • A potential data issue has been identified in the number of public law cases started indicated as High Court (Table 7) from Q3 (Jul-Sept) 2022. These figures have been published with caveats so please treat with caution.

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.

Several timeliness and legal representation related series (Table 10, 10b and 11) have either been paused or published with caveats. These are:

  • A potential data issue has been identified in the legal representation recorded in public law and divorce cases that we are currently exploring. These figures have been published with caveats and should be treated with caution.

  • Following Reform and transition to a new data platform, additional work is needed to reinstate timeliness and legal representation figures for financial remedy cases. These series will be reinstated as soon as possible.

The forced marriage and FGM data used in this publication (Table 16 and 17) are extracted from HMCTS’ management information system One Performance Truth. Recent data validation has confirmed that this system does not include all applications/orders made. We are reviewing the data available, and these tables will be modified accordingly from next quarter. Please treat with caution.

Court of Protection figures under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (Table 20 and 21) have not been updated for this publication, due to the transition to a new data system and the work required to validate the new data feeds. These series will be reinstated as soon as possible.

3. Statistician’s comment

During July to September, an increased number of cases started for public law, private law and financial remedies compared to the equivalent period last year, with fewer adoption, matrimonial matters and domestic violence case starts.

Data on public law cases shows that care proceedings showed more disposals within 26 weeks, and private law cases were also disposed of quicker compared to the same period last year.

There was a record number of grants issued by the Probate Service in July to September 2024 (nearly 90,000), and the average time for all grant types from application submission to grant issue stands at 9 weeks in the same period, 6 weeks quicker than the longest time in the series seen in July to September 2023 (when the oldest cases were being focused on).

4. Overview of the Family Justice System

During July to September 2024, there was a decrease in adoption, matrimonial and domestic violence cases; at the same time there have been increases in financial remedy, public law and private law case starts.

Over the same period, cases reaching a final disposal have increased by 6% overall. This was due to increases in most case types: domestic violence (13%), financial remedy (11%), matrimonial (6%) and private law (3%) cases. However, there was a decrease in public law (6%) and adoption (2%) case disposals. (Table 1)

Figure 1: Cases started and disposed, by case type, January to March 2013 to July to September 2024 (Source: Table 1)

In July to September 2024, 41% of new cases within family courts related to matrimonial matters, down 2 percentage points from the equivalent quarter of 2023.

Timeliness by Case Type

The mean average time for divorce cases (under no fault divorce law) was up nearly 2 weeks compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023. Private law cases took less time, with the mean average time to first disposal in July to September 2024 taking 27 weeks, down 3 weeks compared to the same period in 2023 (Tables 10, 10b)

Public and private law cases – number of parties

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, 82% involve two or more respondents.


HMCTS monthly management information

The statistics in this publication focus on the period between July to September 2024; however, monthly management information (MI) has been published by HMCTS that covers up to October 2024. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/hmcts-management-information-october-2024. 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

Increase in the number of public law case starts

There were 4,073 public law cases starting in July to September 2024, up 3% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023. Cases disposed were down 6% to 3,900 (Table 2).

Average time for care proceedings decreased

The average time for a care and supervision case to reach first disposal was 40 weeks in July to September 2024, down 3 weeks from the same quarter in 2023. 34% of these care proceedings were disposed of within the 26-week limit introduced in the Children and Families Act 2014, up 4 percentage points from the same period last year (Table 8).

There were 6,562 individual children involved in new public law applications in July to September 2024, down 5% on the same quarter in the previous year, while the number of orders applied for decreased by 6%. In July to September 2024, public law care applications made up 68% of public law orders applied for (3,038) (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Public law applications and orders made by order type, July to September 2024 (Source: Table 3-4)

6. Children Act - Private Law

Increase in the number of private law case starts and cases disposed

The number of private law cases[footnote 1] started increased by 1% (to 13,103) in July to September 2024 compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023. The number of applications made increased by 2% over the same period.

The number of private law cases disposed of during July to September 2024 was up 3% on the equivalent quarter in 2023, with the number of disposals down by 4% (Table 2).

There were 13,649 new private law applications made in July to September 2024, up 2% on the equivalent quarter in 2023, with 20,046 individual children involved in these applications.

The number of private law disposals in July to September 2024 was 30,315, down 4% on the equivalent quarter in 2023.

Timeliness of Private law cases

In July to September 2024, it took on average 41 weeks for private law cases to reach a final order, i.e. case closure, down 3 weeks from the same period in 2023 (Table 9).

Figure 3: Private law timeliness from case start date to final order in the family court, January to March 2013 to July to September 2024 (Source: Table 9)

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).

Legal representation in private law cases

The implementation of the LASPO Act led to a shift in the proportion of private law cases involving legal representation , . More recently, the proportions have been relatively stable - in July to September 2024, the proportion of disposals where neither the applicant nor respondent had legal representation was 38%, down 2 percentage points from July to September 2023.

Correspondingly, the proportion of cases where both parties had legal representation was 19% in July to September 2024, unchanged compared to the same period in 2023 (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Proportion of private law disposals by type of legal representation of the parties, January to March 2013 to July to September 2024 (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 July to September 2012 compared to 30% in July to September 2024.

The proportion of parties with legal representation in cases with at least one hearing varies by case type and range from around 84% for public law cases to 4% for adoption cases, with figures subject to change as new cases progress (Table 11).

8. Divorce

There were 27,003 divorce applications made between July to September 2024 under the ‘no fault divorce’ (NFD) legislation

Between July to September 2024 there were 27,003 applications made (74% from sole applicants, 26% from joint applicants) (Table 12b). This was a decrease of 6% from the same quarter in 2023.

There were 27,285 final orders granted in July to September 2024, up 6% compared to the same quarter in 2023 (Table 12)

Decrease in the average time for all divorce proceedings

In July to September 2024 the mean average time from application to conditional order was 37 weeks down nearly 4 weeks from the same quarter of 2023 (Table 12).

The mean average time from application to final order was 63 weeks, down almost 2 weeks from the equivalent quarter in 2023.

Please note that, due to the mandatory waiting period between applying for divorce and applying for the conditional order (CO), this means that any NFD cases started 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 represent a dwindling number of cases and reflect the tail end of cases applied for some time ago, and by definition this measure will be relatively high and will increase over time (and represent fewer cases) 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 26,199 applications made during July to September 2024 (97% of the total, up from 95% in the same period of 2023). The average time to conditional order (94% of the total) for July to September 2024 was 33 weeks, and 52 weeks from application to final order (90% of the total).

Sole and Joint divorce cases

For sole divorce cases, there were 20,003 applications made during July to September 2024 (74% of the total down 2% from the same period of 2023). The average time to conditional order for July to September 2024 for these cases was 34 weeks, and 50 weeks from application to final order.

For joint divorce cases, there were 7,000 applications made during July to September 2024 (26% of the total up 2% from the same period of 2023). The average time to conditional order for July to September 2024 for these cases was 29 weeks, and 43 weeks from application to final order.

Figure 5: Divorce applications made between Q2 2022 to Q3 2024, by applicant type (Source: Table 12b)

9. Financial Remedy

Increase seen in financial remedy applications and disposals events

In July to September 2024, the number of financial remedy applications was up 7% and the number of disposal events was up 10% compared to the same period in 2023 (Table 14).

There were 11,868 financial remedy applications made in July to September 2024, up 7% from the same period in 2023, while there were 11,645 financial remedy disposals events, up 10% compared with a year earlier. During the latest quarter, 76% of applications were uncontested and 24% were contested.

Figure 6: Applications for financial remedy orders, January to March 2013 to July to September 2024 (Source: Table 14)

10. Domestic Violence Remedy Orders

Decrease in both the number of domestic violence remedy applications and orders made

In July to September 2024, there was a 3% decrease in applications made compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023. The number of orders made also decreased by 3% over the same period. 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 (Table 15).

In July to September 2024, there were 7,848 domestic violence remedy applications, (down by 3% on the same quarter in 2023), requesting a total of 8,988 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 and occupation orders in July to September 2024 were both down, by 2% and 6% respectively, compared to the same period in 2023.

There were 9,049 domestic violence orders made in July to September 2024, down 3% from the same period last year. 94% were non-molestation orders and 6% were occupation orders, with non-molestation orders down by 4% and occupation orders up by 6% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023.

Figure 7: Applications for domestic violence remedy orders, January to March 2013 to July to September 2024 (Source: Table 15)

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

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

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 with a less pronounced increase thereafter.

In July to September 2024, there were 39 applications made. This is less than half of the 85 applications made in the equivalent quarter in 2023. The proportion of applications for those aged 17 and under was 59% in July to September 2024, which has fallen from 72% in the same period in 2023. Over the same period, there were 101 orders made, down 26% since the same period from the previous year.

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.

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.

Figure 8: Applications and orders made for Forced Marriage Protection Orders, January to March 2013 to July to September 2024 (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 10 applications and 13 orders made respectively in July to September 2024 (Table 17). In total, there have been 642 applications and 902 orders made up to end of September 2024, since their introduction in July 2015. Please treat the figures in this section with caution while we review this data as outlined in the Data Quality Issues section.

12. Adoptions

Decrease in the number of adoption applications and an increase in orders made, despite the long-term trend showing a fall in adoptions

During July to September 2024, there were 954 adoption applications made, down 9% from the equivalent quarter in 2023. Over the same period, the number of adoption orders issued increased by 4% to 1,060 (Tables 18 and 19).

There were 2,008 total disposals in July to September 2024, a decrease of 2% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023.

The chart below shows the trend of adoption orders by the type of adopter. This shows that during July to September 2024, 54% of all adoption orders were issued to mixed-sex couples, 21% to sole applicants, 14% to same-sex couples and 8% to step-parents.

Figure 9: Adoption orders issued, by adopter, January to March 2013 to July to September 2024 (Source: Table 19)

13. Mental Capacity Act - Court of Protection

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. The figures under the Mental capacity Act 2005 are not available for this publication.

Deprivation of Liberty applications made under the High Court

There are deprivation of liberty applications made to the High Court, which has the power to make deprivation of liberty orders for children under the age of 18. There were 371 applications for this purpose, handling the same number of children. Almost all of these children were teenagers; 58% aged between 13 and 15 and 31% aged between 16 and 18 years (Table 22).

In July to September 2024, 278 orders were issued, of which 129 have had a final order made. 34% of the orders which were finalised between July to September 2024 lasted less than 3 months, while 15% lasted more than 12 months.

These are different from the deprivation of liberty applications and orders made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 which relate to people over the age of 18.

14. Mental Capacity Act - Office of the Public Guardian

Continued increasing trend in Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs)

In July to September 2024, there were 411,880 LPAs registered, the highest in its series and up 36% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023 (Table 22).

In total there were 413,177 Powers of Attorney (POAs) registered in July to September 2024, up 36% from the same quarter in 2023 (Table 23). In July to September 2024, 56% of POAs registered were from female donors whilst 42% were from male donors and 49% were over 75 years old. Lasting Power of Attorney (LPAs) made up almost all (99.7%) of POAs registered in July to September 2024, with Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) making up the other share. There were 1,297 EPAs registered in July to September 2024, down 14% on the equivalent quarter in 2023.

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 10: Powers of Attorney registered, January to March 2008 to July to September 2024 (Source: Table 23)

15. Probate Service

Probate grants issued more quickly than other grants of representation

Probate grants took approximately 7 weeks to be issued after the application was submitted during July to September 2024, down around 7 weeks on the longest time in the series in the equivalent quarter in 202. Letters of administration with a will and without a will took around 23 and 13 weeks respectively (Table 25).

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

In July to September 2024, there were 61,168 applications for probate grants. 70,424 probate grants were issued in the same period. 91% of these applications and 92% of these grants issued were made digitally, compared to 89% of each in the same quarter in 2023 (Table 24).

There were 75,683 applications made for grants of representation in July to September 2024. 61,168 (81%) of these were for probate grants, of which 91% were made digitally (Table 24).

Probate grants also make up the majority (79%) of all grants issued. In July to September 2024, 56% of the grants issued were applied for by legal professionals and 44% were personal applications (Table 24). For the 70,424 probate grants issued in the same period, 92% were issued digitally.

Timeliness of probate grants

The mean average time from application submission to grant issue for probate grants was 7 weeks (median average 3 weeks) overall. The mean time between application submission and grant being issued is the lowest it’s been since the end of 2022. Whilst 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 3 weeks from application submission to grant issue and 1 week 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 2024 took 16 weeks on average to be issued, compared to 3 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 23 and 13 weeks respectively for July to September 2024, though these formed a smaller proportion of all grants issued, 3% and 18% respectively (Figure 12).

Figure 11: Average (mean) time for grants of representation issued from application submission by the Probate Service, July to September 2019 to July to September 2024 (Source: Table 25)

16. Further information

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:

Accredited official statistics status

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 accredited official statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Authority promptly. Accredited official 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:

Rita Kumi-Ampofo, Head of Access to Justice Data and Statistics, using the following email address familycourt.statistics@justice.gov.uk

Next update: 27 March 2025

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. ↩

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