As result of a disappointing uptake in Family Mediation following the removal of legal aid for family disputes last April the Ministry of Justice, together with Simon Hughes MP and the Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties, is holding a series of roundtable web chats with mediators, family lawyers and other interested parties to explore the reasons for poor up take of family mediation since April 2013 and ideas to promote family mediation.
A recent FMA survey is likely to show that though legal aid is still available for family mediation there has been a reduction of 53% in the number of recorded claims being made in respect of legally aided mediations between April last 2013 and December 2013. A contributor to the web chat indicated that some of the oldest and biggest family mediation practices were being forced to close. The Ministry of Justice is pulling together a new Mediation Task Force who will meet for the first time on the 20 March 2014 to look at ways of promoting family mediation and considering suggestions and ideas generated as a result of the round table web chats. We would be interested in any comments from past and prospective clients about their experiences, perceptions and views of family mediation that you would be happy for us to contribute to the debate. Please contact Amina Somers at aminasomers@goodmanray.com
