Recommendation 20

MoJ had expected that, following LASPO, more people with family law disputes would use mediation instead of court to resolve their disputes. However the number of legally aided mediation assessments (which determine whether a case is suitable for mediation) fell significantly following the reforms.52 MoJ told us that its mediation voucher scheme, aimed at encouraging family mediation, had “plugged the gap” as last year the number of publicly funded mediation cases was higher than before the pandemic.53 However MoJ’s statistics show that legally aided family mediation assessments had remained at around 40% below pre-reform levels even by 2022–23. The Family Mediation Council also noted that the number of legally aided family mediation starts had not recovered.54 Further, MoJ’s analysis of its non-means-tested voucher scheme suggests that only a very small number of people who would have qualified for legal aid had instead used the voucher scheme. So this route would not substantially improve take-up by those who were eligible for legally-aided mediation.55 50 Committee of Public Accounts, Implementing reforms to civil legal aid, Thirty-sixth Report of Session 2014–15, HC 808, 4 February 2015 51 Qq 65–68, 75 52 C&AG’s Report, para 1.19 53 Q 79 54 C&AG’s Report, para 1.19; VMLA0008 55 C&AG’s Report, Figure 5 16 Value for Money from Legal Aid