Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 87077 on Children: Custody, what plans his Department has to fund the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme beyond March 2026.

Since my response to PQ 87077 on 10 November 2025, uptake of the Mediation Voucher Scheme has continued to grow. The scheme has now helped over 51,000 families access mediation services since its launch.

Decisions on the continuation or expansion of the Mediation Voucher Scheme beyond March 2026 form part of the ongoing funding allocations discussion for the three-year Spending Review period. Any decisions on if and how the scheme could be expanded will be taken once the allocations process has concluded, should the scheme continue.

Local authority-level reporting on voucher take-up is something we are working towards. Our new client survey now collects location data, which will allow us to provide more detailed insights in the future.