Ministry of Justice reveal Mediation services by legal aid cuts

The Guardian Newspaper reports today that the Number of couples attending out-of-court family mediation sessions to resolve family disputes has fallen by half since April, according to data provided by the Ministry of Justice.

Here is a link to the article;  Guardian Article about drop in demand for mediation

Statistics compiled by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) show that the number of couples attending out-of-court sessions to resolve family disputes since cuts to legal aid were introduced in April have plummeted by 47%.

Mediators have warned that some services have already closed and the industry is being put at risk following cuts to legal aid introduced by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, which came into force in April.

Between April and June last year, 7,381 couples attended mediation information and assessment meetings in England and Wales. Over the same three months in 2013, the numbers fell to 3,854 – a drop of 47%.

The number of couples starting family mediation sessions fell from 3,564 to 2,623 over the same period – a decline of 26%.

Meanwhile, according to the government’s Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), has been a 27% increase since April this year in private cases flooding into the family courts system leading to delays.

This really does highlight the good work done by Legal Aid Solicitors in encouraging their clients into mediation.

It is our experience that most clients will not consider mediation until they have taken Legal Advice.