The new secretary of state for justice, Alex Norris, is being urged to strengthen family mediation and protect legal aid provision by the Family Mediation Council (FMC).
In a letter from the organisation, FMC chair Stephen Burke (pictured) sets out how family mediation can improve outcomes for separating families, reduce pressure on the family justice system, and save public money.
Citing the the recent Justice Select Committee report Access to Justice: Legal Aid, Burke said now is “a timely opportunity for the government to strengthen family mediation and protect access to legally aided provision.”
In the wake of the committee’s report, the FMC called for urgent action on rates.
The letter highlights the growing pressures on legally aided family mediation, noting the FMC’s own research which showed a 50% fall in the number of family mediators offering legal aid since 2018.
Burke writes: “There is a real danger that low-income families may soon be unable to access legally aided family mediation to enable them to make agreements over parenting, property or money. Since 2018 there has been a 50% reduction in the number of family mediators offering legal aid. This is because legal aid rates paid to mediators have remained unchanged for over 25 years. If legal aid rates for family mediators are not raised, access to affordable and legally aided family mediation for families in need will erode further and could simply disappear.”
The letter explains that some providers have already stopped offering legally aided mediation, while others are restricting the number of legally aided clients they are able to accept.
The FMC believes strengthening family mediation would benefit not only separating families but the wider justice system and public finances, Burke added.
“Family mediation can significantly reduce the negative impact on young people of family separation and parental conflict. It can also reduce the costs accruing from parental conflict, reaping significant long-term dividends for the UK economy.”
The letter also notes that family mediation helps separating couples resolve issues relating to children, property and finances without the stress, delay and expense that can accompany contested court proceedings, while also reducing pressures on other professionals and public services.
Among the measures proposed by the FMC are a renewed government commitment to family mediation and the profession, an urgent increase in legal aid rates paid to family mediators, and joined-up action across government to support a “family mediation first” approach.
Concluding the letter, Mr Burke said: “The recent Justice Select Committee report creates a timely opportunity for the government to strengthen family mediation and protect access to legally aided provision.”
