Mediation
(asked on 23rd June 2014) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that family mediation fees remain affordable.
Statistics on the volume and value of family mediation funded through legal aid are contained within legal aid statistics: April 2013 to March 2014 (www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322466/legal-aid-statistics-2013-14.pdf ). Tables 7.1 and 7.2 contain family mediation data between 2006-07 and 2013-14.
An extract of the legal aid spend on family mediation is included in the table below:
| MIAMS Volumes | MIAMS expenditure | Mediations Starts | Mediations |
2010-11 | 26,388 | £6,276,568 | 14,186 | £6,997,924 |
2011-12 | 31,338 | £7,796,253 | 15,357 | £6,917,892 |
2012-13 | 30,662 | £8,053,106 | 13,609 | £6,307,518 |
2013-14 | 13,354 | £3,182,662 | 8,400 | £4,291,680 |
The large drop off in 2013-14 was due to removal of mandatory MIAM for onward legal aid funding, which meant that solicitors were no longer referring to mediation. We introduced a statutory MIAM in April 2014 as part of the Children and Families Act which places a legal obligation on an applicant to attend a MIAM before being able to issue court proceedings in certain private family law matters (children and financial disputes).
It is too early to say what impact the introduction of statutory MIAMs has had on referral numbers but anecdotally we have heard from mediators and the judiciary that referrals are increasing and the message is getting through to the public.
Family mediation is not regulated by this Department but legal aid remains available for mediation for those who meet the eligibility criteria.