Family Mediation Council Update – only 687 Accredited Family Mediators

I received a news update from the Family Mediation Council – FMC at end of March 2017.

The FMC is the governing body for mediation. It is made up of the various mediation membership organisations.

Mediator numbers

There are 982 mediators registered with FMC of whom only 687 who are accredited

Last year I reported that there were estimated to be 800 accredited mediators. This is a reduction and given the demographic of mediators, the number is likely to fall further over the next few years.

That means that there are only 687 who are able to sign off Court Application Forms after a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting.

To put that in context; Resolution has some 6000 members – some 160 odd are based in Devon, but there are many more solicitors and ,legal executives and paralegals working in the world of family law who are not resolution members.

The number of accredited mediators is small and pitifully small in comparison to the numbers of lawyers and non-lawyers who have completed mediation training courses over the last 20 years.

It would be interested to know the numbers who have trained over the years but never gained enough experience to accredit. It will be at least several 000’s. The sad fact is that too many have trained to undertake work that has never been there in the volume that it should be.

Whilst mediation is better understood than it used to be, many separating couples are sceptical of its prospects of achieving success.

To a degree they have a point. Mediation cannot guarantee a successful outcome. Both need to want to achieve a settlement and are realistic and willing to compromise.

Many are reluctant to spend the money on a process which cannot guarantee success. We have tried to address those concerns with our mediation-arbitration scheme: which combines mediation with arbitration – which does give a binding outcome if the mediation files.

I trained as a mediator in 1996 and was I believe the 13th mediator to achieve the accreditation standard with resolution(then known as the Solicitors Family Law Association – SFLA) I accredited with both FMC and the Law Society and will be one of only a handful of Mediators who is an accredited family mediator, Civil mediator (with Devon ad Somerset Law Society Civil Mediation Panel) Arbitrator and specialist family law solicitor.

I am the only family mediator based in Honiton. We have permanent consulting rooms in Taunton.

My catchment area includes Taunton, Exeter, Exmouth, Sidmouth, Seaton, Axminster, Chard, Ottery St Mary, Cullompton, Tiverton and Wellington

The FMC correctly point out that pay rates for mediators under legal aid not been increased for over 15 years! Mediators should count themselves lucky; solicitors who undertake legal aid work in the most complex of children cases have within this period had their rates of pay cut!