Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will increase the rates paid to family mediators who offer legally aided mediation.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This Government recognises the vital role that legal aid and mediation plays in supporting individuals to resolve their family disputes. We know that the civil and family legal aid market, including family mediation, is facing challenges and we are taking steps to address these.
We are undertaking a programme to transform the delivery of legal aid and the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) systems over this Parliament. The programme seeks to deliver flexible, secure services designed around the end-to-end legal aid user journey and to reduce administrative burdens for legal aid providers.
Last year, the Government spent £854 million on family legal aid, and we continue to keep family legal aid policy under review.
Alongside legal aid, we are also committed to supporting more families reach agreement outside of court through mediation, where it is safe and appropriate to do so. The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, introduced in April 2021, is available to families across England and Wales. The scheme offers up to £500 towards mediation costs.
The LAA does not hold information about the number of individual mediators able to provide family legal aid mediation services as it contracts with providers at an organisational level. The LAA publishes data on the number of contracted providers delivering legal aid services as part of its official statistics - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2025. Statistics for the most recent published period show there are 87 providers with a family mediation contract. Although contracts may be linked to a single office, mediation providers operate multiple outreach arrangements through which services are delivered. Unlike other civil categories of law there are no defined geographic procurement areas, so providers can operate across England and Wales. Some providers include large numbers of outreach locations on their schedules, in some cases running into the hundreds. Details of the outreach locations for each mediation provider can be found in the published Directory of Legal Aid Providers - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers.
Procurement for legal aid contracts, including family mediation contracts, is operated under the ‘always on principle’ so that the procurement remains open during the life of the contract. This means providers can apply for a contract or expand their services at any time, rather than waiting for a fixed tender period. This flexible approach is designed to maintain and grow the supply of legal aid services by encouraging further supply into the market, alongside quicker process times for bids and simplified documentation, reducing barriers to entry.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help tackle the shortage of legal aid providers in the area of family mediation.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This Government recognises the vital role that legal aid and mediation plays in supporting individuals to resolve their family disputes. We know that the civil and family legal aid market, including family mediation, is facing challenges and we are taking steps to address these.
We are undertaking a programme to transform the delivery of legal aid and the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) systems over this Parliament. The programme seeks to deliver flexible, secure services designed around the end-to-end legal aid user journey and to reduce administrative burdens for legal aid providers.
Last year, the Government spent £854 million on family legal aid, and we continue to keep family legal aid policy under review.
Alongside legal aid, we are also committed to supporting more families reach agreement outside of court through mediation, where it is safe and appropriate to do so. The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, introduced in April 2021, is available to families across England and Wales. The scheme offers up to £500 towards mediation costs.
The LAA does not hold information about the number of individual mediators able to provide family legal aid mediation services as it contracts with providers at an organisational level. The LAA publishes data on the number of contracted providers delivering legal aid services as part of its official statistics - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2025. Statistics for the most recent published period show there are 87 providers with a family mediation contract. Although contracts may be linked to a single office, mediation providers operate multiple outreach arrangements through which services are delivered. Unlike other civil categories of law there are no defined geographic procurement areas, so providers can operate across England and Wales. Some providers include large numbers of outreach locations on their schedules, in some cases running into the hundreds. Details of the outreach locations for each mediation provider can be found in the published Directory of Legal Aid Providers - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers.
Procurement for legal aid contracts, including family mediation contracts, is operated under the ‘always on principle’ so that the procurement remains open during the life of the contract. This means providers can apply for a contract or expand their services at any time, rather than waiting for a fixed tender period. This flexible approach is designed to maintain and grow the supply of legal aid services by encouraging further supply into the market, alongside quicker process times for bids and simplified documentation, reducing barriers to entry.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking with the Family Mediation Council to promote the value of family mediation to separating and divorcing couples.
Answered by Catherine Atkinson
The Ministry of Justice works closely with the Family Mediation Council (FMC) to ensure that the information provided to all eligible couples when they enter the Family Court system regarding the benefits of non-court dispute resolution, including family mediation, is complete and up to date.
The Ministry of Justice and the FMC also work together to facilitate and support the use of family mediation more generally, for example by ensuring that guidance remains useful and effective.
Information on non-court dispute resolution including mediation, is included as part of the recently updated Gov.UK pages and online tools designed to help separating parents: Making child arrangements if you divorce or separate: Other ways to agree without going to court - GOV.UK.
The Ministry of Justice has co-operated with the FMC to ensure the effective running of the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, which requires participating mediators to be accredited by the FMC. This scheme gives all those who qualify, including separating and divorcing couples, a £500 single-use voucher to spend on family mediation, provided that their dispute or application involves a child.
Since the scheme was established in 2021, 58,670 vouchers have been approved (as of 18 June 2026).
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he will take to improve access to legally aided family mediation for couples who are separating or divorcing.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This Government recognises the vital role that legal aid and mediation plays in supporting individuals to resolve their family disputes. We know that the civil and family legal aid market, including family mediation, is facing challenges and we are taking steps to address these.
We are undertaking a programme to transform the delivery of legal aid and the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) systems over this Parliament. The programme seeks to deliver flexible, secure services designed around the end-to-end legal aid user journey and to reduce administrative burdens for legal aid providers.
Last year, the Government spent £854 million on family legal aid, and we continue to keep family legal aid policy under review.
Alongside legal aid, we are also committed to supporting more families reach agreement outside of court through mediation, where it is safe and appropriate to do so. The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, introduced in April 2021, is available to families across England and Wales. The scheme offers up to £500 towards mediation costs.
The LAA does not hold information about the number of individual mediators able to provide family legal aid mediation services as it contracts with providers at an organisational level. The LAA publishes data on the number of contracted providers delivering legal aid services as part of its official statistics - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2025. Statistics for the most recent published period show there are 87 providers with a family mediation contract. Although contracts may be linked to a single office, mediation providers operate multiple outreach arrangements through which services are delivered. Unlike other civil categories of law there are no defined geographic procurement areas, so providers can operate across England and Wales. Some providers include large numbers of outreach locations on their schedules, in some cases running into the hundreds. Details of the outreach locations for each mediation provider can be found in the published Directory of Legal Aid Providers - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers.
Procurement for legal aid contracts, including family mediation contracts, is operated under the ‘always on principle’ so that the procurement remains open during the life of the contract. This means providers can apply for a contract or expand their services at any time, rather than waiting for a fixed tender period. This flexible approach is designed to maintain and grow the supply of legal aid services by encouraging further supply into the market, alongside quicker process times for bids and simplified documentation, reducing barriers to entry.