Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the performance of the scheme which allows both parties in a family dispute to receive one free mediation session where just one party qualifies for legal aid.

In the first full quarter since the first session of mediation was free to eligible parties, the number of mediation starts increased by 339 to 2336, the highest levels since April-June 2013. In parallel to these changes the Ministry of Justice undertook work to promote the benefits of mediation through the ‘First Stop: Family Mediation’ communications campaign. I refer the hon. Member for Exeter, Ben Bradshaw MP to my response to parliamentary question 6861 in which I summarise the success of this campaign.

Mediation starts have now increased in four consecutive quarters and we continue to look at ways in which we can promote family mediation over an application through the court. We will also continue to monitor the number of couples attending a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) and – more importantly – the number of people starting mediation.