Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2020 to Question 19946, what plans he has to increase legal aid pay rates for family mediation services.

Legal aid remains available for mediation in certain family disputes, where the parties meet the eligibility criteria. The latest published Legal Aid Statistics show that in family mediation, Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings (MIAMs) assessments increased by 20% in the last quarter compared to the same quarter in the previous year.

In the Legal Support Action Plan, we committed to launching a campaign to raise awareness of the full breadth of legal support available, including legal aid.