FOI reference: FOI-2025-3305
You asked
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request the following information:
- The number of divorce petitions filed on 25 December (Christmas Day) in England and Wales for the years 2020 to 2024, if available.
- Alternatively, the number of divorces granted/finalized on 25 December (Christmas Day) for the same years.
If exact daily figures are not available, I would appreciate any guidance on whether approximate data, aggregated by day or week, can be provided.
We said
Thank you for your request.
Number of divorces on 25 December
Divorce final orders granted:
2023: 3
2022: 24
2021: 0
2020: 0
The number of divorces applied for and granted during 2022 will have been affected by the introduction of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, and this may have had a continued effect in 2023. The Act came into effect on 6 April 2022 and introduced new mandatory waiting periods at important stages, and other changes, including allowing couples to end a partnership jointly, and the removal of grounds for divorce and dissolution.
The number and timing of divorces petitioned for and granted during 2020 and 2021 may also have been affected by disruption to family court activities during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The underlying data used to answer this query are shared with ONS for the purpose of the production of divorce statistics. ONS do not routinely publish statistics on divorce and dissolution by date of application (previously petition); our published statistics are by date of final order (previously decree absolute) or nullity order (decree of nullity) granted.
The Ministry of Justice publish statistics on activity in the family courts of England and Wales. These include the number of divorce and dissolution applications filed quarterly: Family Court Statistics Quarterly - GOV.UK
We recommend any further queries related to divorce applications are directed to the Ministry of Justice, as they may be able to provide a more detailed explanation of the figures.