Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information and guidance his Department has published online since 1 July 2013 on (a) mediating legal disputes and (b) the identity and costs charged by providers of mediation services.

The government encourages people to use mediation as a way of solving legal disputes rather than going to court. Our web pages which can be found under gov.uk, includes information about neighbour disputes, debt, and accidents and injuries and encourages parties to consider mediation. Information is also available for family disputes where it is now a legislative requirement that anyone considering applying to court for an order about their children or finances is legally obliged to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting first, unless specific exemptions apply (for example domestic violence).

This Department publishes information about mediation providers annually at http://www.civilmediation.justice.gov.uk/ Those mediators listed are accredited by the Civil Mediation Council. The mediators have agreed to a sliding scale of fees depending on the monetary value of the claim. The scale can also be found at the link above.