HMCTS protected characteristics questionnaire: Data on users of reformed services
Published 17 March 2022
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmcts-protected-characteristics-questionnaire/hmcts-protected-characteristics-questionnaire-data-on-users-of-reformed-services
1. Introduction
This report summarises responses to the Protected Characteristics Questions (PCQ) collected for reformed HMCTS services between April and September 2021. This is the first time this information has been published and we welcome feedback on the format while we confirm plans for regular, future publications. This report reflects the intention for transparency highlighted in our recently published data strategy.
The scope of this report is limited to summarising the characteristics of users based on the PCQ results.
The report does not cover:
- an interpretation of the results for every characteristic
- additional user characteristics that we can derive from postcode data (such as levels of income and education/skills)
- any analysis of differences in the user experience by characteristics
PCQ data is currently available for the following services which were the first to be reformed:
- divorce
- probate
- online civil money claims (OCMC)
- social security and child support (SSCS)
The questionnaire will be added to more services as they complete the reform process.
2. Background
We’re collecting data on protected characteristics to:
- better understand user characteristics, to inform continuous improvement in services
- identify any differences in the service experience by user characteristics, to improve access to justice
- strengthen its approach to meeting its Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)
The questionnaire covers the following characteristics and questions were aligned with ONS standards to enable comparisons with equivalent data from other sources:
- main language
- religion
- date of birth
- ethnicity
- disability
- pregnancy
- sexual orientation
- sex
- gender
- marital status
Some questions are omitted from the list for specific services where the information is already collected as part of the main application process. For example, SSCS appellants are not asked for their date of birth in the questionnaire as that information is collected directly as part of their appeal.
The questionnaire is voluntary and presented to users while they are making their application or responding to an existing case. This report focuses on users of digital channels because the questionnaire is only added to paper channels once services have bulk scanning in place. In this publication it is only the probate service for which we have PCQ results for both digital and paper channels.
Service users can choose to skip the entire questionnaire or individual questions. We provide more detail about this in the next section.
3. Interpreting PCQ results
PCQ results can provide us with a valuable understanding of user characteristics. However, there are limitations to the questionnaire that we need to bear in mind when interpreting the results.
One key aspect is the voluntary nature of the questionnaire. This means results can be biased through two main routes:
- people can choose to opt out of the whole questionnaire
- they can leave individual questions blank or select the ‘prefer not to say’ option
If people with specific characteristics are more likely to skip the entire questionnaire or individual questions, then our results will not be representative of service users.
With the divorce service we can check for any bias in PCQ responses by sex, as the main case records contain independent data on whether petitioners are male or female. The completed PCQ returns for April to September 2021 suggest that 69% of petitioners are female while separate analysis of case records provides an equivalent, unbiased figure of 63%. This comparison shows the completed PCQ returns for divorce are biased by sex: female divorce petitioners are more likely to choose to complete a PCQ than their male equivalents. The same bias is evident for divorce respondents.
Because of this risk of bias, questionnaire results like these are usually only published if the response rate is over 60%. That benchmark hasn’t been met (see user responses section) but for transparency we are sharing the results as they are, with a clear warning that they need to be interpreted with care.
3.1 Additional points to consider
First, where the questionnaire is not yet available on all service channels, the results cannot be assumed to be representative of all service users. For example, results for the digital channel in divorce cannot be assumed to be representative of all divorce petitioners and respondents. Equally, the results only cover unrepresented users of each service. The characteristics of those people represented by a solicitor are likely to be different.
Similarly, we only have PCQ results for people who engage with each service. For example, with the OCMC service, every claimant will have an opportunity to complete the questionnaire, but defendants only have the same opportunity if they engage with their case. So the defendant PCQ data can only tell us about those people who engage with their case, not the wider set of defendants. This is also relevant to divorce respondents. We only have data on the characteristics of those respondents who engage with their case by acknowledging that they have been served with divorce papers.
Finally, to be counted as providing a positive response to the questionnaire, people need to both choose to answer it and then provide an informative answer to at least one question. For example, if someone begins the questionnaire but then chooses the ‘prefer not to say’ option for every question, we treat them the same as someone who has opted out of the entire questionnaire. This is partly because in relation to the risk of bias, the two sets of responses are equivalent.
The issue of bias also has implications for any further analysis of the PCQ results. For example, it will make it difficult to compare characteristics data for one period against another, as and when further data becomes available.
We welcome feedback on this analysis while we confirm plans for regular, future publications. You can email us at hmctsinsight@justice.gov.uk.
4. User responses
For this publication we are focusing on PCQs completed between April and September 2021 so that we are presenting results across different services for a consistent period, when all relevant digital channels were live.
4.1 Table 1
Table 1 shows the number of people who have responded to the questionnaire in that time, split by service, channel and actor/user type. The number of people choosing to answer this questionnaire is defined here as the number of people providing information on at least one characteristic.
Table 1: number of people choosing to answer the questionnaire
| Service_id | Channel | Actor | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|
| OCMC | digital | claimant | 12,292 |
| OCMC | digital | defendant | 2,593 |
| divorce | digital | petitioner | 13,163 |
| divorce | digital | respondent | 14,486 |
| probate | digital | applicant | 16,190 |
| probate | paper | applicant | 7,254 |
| SSCS | digital | appellant | 7,959 |
These volumes are equivalent to a response rate of around 50% for each service/actor combination, except probate applicants using the paper channel where the rate is around 30%. These response rates emphasise the need for caution around potentially biased results. We have recently made improvements to data systems so that more precise estimates of response rates will be available for future time periods.
4.2 Table 2
Table 2 summarises the second source of potential bias, meaning missing information at the question level. It shows that people are more likely to skip individual questions or select the ‘prefer not to say’ option when the questions are about religion or disability.
Table 2: percentage of responses to each question that are blank or ‘prefer not to say’
| Actor group | Main language | Religion | Age | Ethnicity | Disability | Sex | Sexuality | Gender | Marriage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCMC claimant digital | 1.1 | 5.4 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 6.0 | 0.8 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 3.7 |
| OCMC defendant digital | 1.9 | 8.1 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 10.4 | 2.1 | 6.9 | 1.8 | 7.7 |
| divorce petitioner digital | 0.8 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 6.6 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 0.6 | N/A |
| divorce respondent digital | 1.2 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 9.5 | 1.0 | 3.9 | 1.1 | N/A |
| probate applicant digital | 0.4 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 6.1 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 2.8 |
| probate applicant paper | 3.8 | 8.5 | 13.0 | 6.5 | 8.6 | 4.7 | 8.4 | 5.2 | 9.5 |
| SSCS appellant digital | 1.2 | 8.7 | N/A | 5.4 | N/A | 1.2 | 6.8 | 1.6 | 5.6 |
To note: the 50% overall response rate means that, for digital services, around 50 out of 100 people provided information on at least one protected characteristic. Using probate applicants as an example, of those 50 people, 2% chose not to provide information about their ethnicity. This means that our ethnicity results for digital probate applicants are based on around 49 out of every 100 applicants.
5. Summaries of characteristics
The tables below summarise the questionnaire results for each characteristic in turn, showing the distribution of informative answers for each characteristic by service/channel/actor group.
In this report we are not attempting to provide an interpretation of the results for every characteristic as that is best done by considering the PCQ data alongside other sources of information about users. However, we can highlight four of the most obvious differences between the users of different services.
First, the language and ethnicity tables show probate users as outliers on both, with a high percentage of applicants that are White and a high percentage that speak English or Welsh compared to users of other services. This is consistent with the fact that probate applicants are more likely to be from wealthier backgrounds. The ONS wealth and assets survey shows that the average level of household wealth is highest for those with a white British household head.
Second, the summary by age shows clear differences between probate, OCMC and SSCS users. Probate applicants are heavily skewed to older age groups with a median age falling in the 55 to 64 age category. This is expected, as applicants are often either the spouse or son/daughter of the person who has died. By contrast, the median age of divorce petitioners and respondents falls within the 35 to 44 age category. The age distribution for OCMC is far broader, with the 25 to 34, 35 to 44, 45 to 54, and 55 to 64 categories nearly equal in size.
Third, the age information for probate applicants also demonstrates differences between users of paper and digital channels that we would expect to see, with a larger proportion of applicants in the paper channel being aged 65 or over. This emphasises the continued importance of the paper channel for older age groups.
Finally, the disability data for OCMC defendants provides an additional indication of their potential vulnerability while contesting a money claim, with a larger proportion of OCMC defendants having physical or mental health conditions relative to OCMC claimants and users of the divorce and probate services.
5.1 Summary tables by characteristic
For each question and actor group, tables show the distribution of informative responses across categories (meaning the rows sum to 100%).
Language
What is your main language?
| Actor group | English or Welsh (per cent) | Other (per cent) |
|---|---|---|
| OCMC claimant digital | 93.5 | 6.5 |
| OCMC defendant digital | 92.0 | 8.0 |
| divorce petitioner digital | 90.9 | 9.1 |
| divorce respondent digital | 91.1 | 8.9 |
| probate applicant digital | 99.4 | 0.6 |
| probate applicant paper | 98.7 | 1.3 |
| SSCS appellant digital | 91.5 | 8.5 |
Religion
What is your religion?
| Actor Group | No religion (per cent) | Christian (per cent) | Muslim (per cent) | Hindu (per cent) | Sikh (per cent) | Jewish (per cent) | Buddhist (per cent) | Any other religion (per cent) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCMC claimant digital | 46.6 | 44.3 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.0 |
| OCMC defendant digital | 51.8 | 39.9 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| divorce petitioner digital | 49.8 | 41.4 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| divorce respondent digital | 49.3 | 42.4 | 4.1 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.5 |
| probate applicant digital | 39.1 | 57.7 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
| probate applicant paper | 28.0 | 68.2 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| SSCS appellant digital | 50.7 | 37.3 | 7.8 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2.3 |
Age
What is your date of birth? (summarised by age band)
| Actor group | Under 25 (per cent) | 25 to 34 (per cent) | 35 to 44 (per cent) | 45 to 54 (per cent) | 55 to 64 (per cent) | 65 to 74 (per cent) | 75 to 84 (per cent) | Over 85 (per cent) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCMC claimant digital | 6.4 | 18.1 | 21.0 | 22.6 | 18.3 | 10.3 | 2.9 | 0.3 |
| OCMC defendant digital | 9.1 | 26.4 | 24.1 | 18.8 | 13.8 | 6.0 | 1.5 | 0.3 |
| divorce petitioner digital | 0.8 | 22.4 | 37.3 | 26.0 | 11.2 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| divorce respondent digital | 0.7 | 17.8 | 33.6 | 29.6 | 14.8 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| probate applicant digital | 0.5 | 3.3 | 8.2 | 23.3 | 39.6 | 20.1 | 4.4 | 0.6 |
| probate applicant paper | 0.4 | 2.2 | 5.2 | 15.7 | 36.3 | 27.9 | 9.8 | 2.5 |
Ethnicity
What is your ethnic group?
| Actor group | White (per cent) | Asian or Asian British (per cent) | Black, African, Caribbean or Black British (per cent) | Mixed (per cent) | Another ethnic group (per cent) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCMC claimant digital | 86.0 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 1.8 | 1.1 |
| OCMC defendant digital | 84.1 | 7.2 | 5.0 | 2.5 | 1.2 |
| divorce petitioner digital | 85.1 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 1.8 | 1.6 |
| divorce respondent digital | 86.4 | 6.0 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
| probate applicant digital | 95.4 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 |
| probate applicant paper | 95.0 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.1 |
| SSCS appellant digital | 84.0 | 6.5 | 4.8 | 2.7 | 1.9 |
Disability
Do you have any physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more? If Yes, do any of your conditions or illnesses reduce your ability to carry out day-to-day activities?
| Actor group | No (per cent) | Yes, but not limited (per cent) | Yes, limited a little (per cent) | Yes, limited a lot (per cent) | Yes, unknown impact (per cent) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCMC claimant digital | 79.6 | 4.4 | 9.3 | 5.6 | 1.0 |
| OCMC defendant digital | 68.8 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 9.3 | 2.0 |
| divorce petitioner digital | 80.3 | 5.2 | 8.3 | 5.3 | 0.9 |
| divorce respondent digital | 78.3 | 5.2 | 9.7 | 5.2 | 1.5 |
| probate applicant digital | 87.0 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 2.3 | 0.4 |
| probate applicant paper | 84.6 | 4.7 | 6.0 | 3.9 | 0.8 |
Pregnancy
Are you currently pregnant or have you been pregnant in the last year? [As a percentage of female respondents]
| Actor group | No (per cent) | Yes (per cent) |
|---|---|---|
| OCMC claimant digital | 94.8 | 5.2 |
| OCMC defendant digital | 92.3 | 7.7 |
| divorce petitioner digital | 95.7 | 4.3 |
| divorce respondent digital | 97.0 | 3.0 |
| probate applicant digital | 99.0 | 1.0 |
| probate applicant paper | 99.4 | 0.6 |
| SSCS appellant digital | 94.9 | 5.1 |
Sexuality
Which of the following options best describes how you think of yourself?
| Actor group | Heterosexual (per cent) | Gay or lesbian (per cent) | Bisexual (per cent) | Other (per cent) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCMC claimant digital | 94.8 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 0.4 |
| OCMC defendant digital | 93.8 | 3.7 | 1.9 | 0.6 |
| divorce petitioner digital | 94.8 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0.4 |
| divorce respondent digital | 95.3 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 0.5 |
| probate applicant digital | 97.4 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| probate applicant paper | 98.4 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| SSCS appellant digital | 93.0 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 1.2 |
Sex
What is your sex?
| Actor group | Female (per cent) | Male (per cent) |
|---|---|---|
| OCMC claimant digital | 43.0 | 57.0 |
| OCMC defendant digital | 45.2 | 54.8 |
| divorce petitioner digital | 68.7 | 31.3 |
| divorce respondent digital | 41.0 | 59.0 |
| probate applicant digital | 48.6 | 51.4 |
| probate applicant paper | 55.0 | 45.0 |
| SSCS appellant digital | 60.7 | 39.3 |
Gender
Is your gender the same as the sex you were registered at birth?
| Actor group | Yes (per cent) | No (per cent) |
|---|---|---|
| OCMC claimant digital | 99.9 | 0.1 |
| OCMC defendant digital | 99.9 | 0.1 |
| divorce petitioner digital | 99.7 | 0.3 |
| divorce respondent digital | 99.6 | 0.4 |
| probate applicant digital | 100.0 | 0.0 |
| probate applicant paper | 99.8 | 0.2 |
| SSCS appellant digital | 99.6 | 0.4 |
Marriage
Are you married or in a legally registered civil partnership?
| Actor group | Yes (per cent) | No (per cent) |
|---|---|---|
| OCMC claimant digital | 50.8 | 49.2 |
| OCMC defendant digital | 37.3 | 62.7 |
| probate applicant digital | 70.0 | 30.0 |
| probate applicant paper | 69.5 | 30.5 |
| SSCS appellant digital | 29.5 | 70.5 |