Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 23
23
Paragraph: 97
The Committee welcomes the introduction of the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme.
Conclusion
The Committee welcomes the introduction of the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme. It is a positive step and recognises that more needs to be done to help separating parents. We believe that if early legal advice was available alongside mediation, this would result in an increase in the numbers using mediation successfully.
Paragraph Reference:
97
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
Since the launch of the Family Mediation Scheme on 26 March 2021, the Family Mediation Council on behalf of the Ministry of Justice has tracked weekly up take of the vouchers and are continuing to collect data based on the outcomes of sessions. The early data we have regarding outcomes, shows the scheme has been positively received and is achieving its purpose of assisting families to mediate their issues. We will continue to monitor the take up of the scheme and look more closely at the data collection we record in order to help shape future initiatives in this space. Beyond this, our ongoing work on the sustainability of the civil legal aid market is considering the scope of civil legal aid, in particularly for early legal help.