Key points:

• the median average processing times increased from 16 working days in December 2023 to 51 in February 2023, and then decreased to 40 in March 2023
• for the applications processed in the 2022/23 financial year, the median average processing time was 29 working days (table 5)
• processing times were calculated by determining the time between an application being received and a decision being made or the application being withdrawn
• this includes the time spent waiting to receive evidence from clients, but does not include additional time to make payments
• ‘Straight-through Processing’ was introduced on 14 November 2022 allowing certain applications which meet a specific set of criteria to be automatically passed to the payment approval stage

For more information on Straight-through processing and how processing times for any applications processed are calculated, see the Processing time section of the background notes.