Government invests £1.3m into family mediation scheme, to cut divorce court backlog
The government is set to invest a further £1.3m into its family mediation scheme, in an effort to keep divorce cases out of court.
The new funding will provide an additional 2,440 vouchers for mediation services, with a view to freeing up space in divorce courts to cut the backlog built up during Covid-19.
In a statement, the Ministry of Justice claimed mediation offers a cheaper and quicker means of resolving disputes.
The process sees couple work through their disagreements with the help of a trained and accredited mediator, with a view to reaching an agreement they are both prepared to accept.
Since first launching the voucher scheme last year, mediation 4,400 vouchers have been used.
Of those 4,400 cases, 77 per cent were able to reach a full or partial agreement, without going into family courts.
Justice secretary Dominic Raab said: “I want to see children and their parents spared the stress and conflict of the courtroom as much as possible, and I’m delighted that thousands more will now have the opportunity to resolve their disputes in less combative way.”
The court services estimate that the backlog facing the family courts will take until 2023 to be resolved.
In 2020, the government introduced new rules allowing for no-fault divorces, meaning couples can go through a divorce without blaming each other.
Speaking to City A.M. lawyers welcomed the government’s new scheme, as they argued the new measures may keep cases out of family courts.
In an email to City PM Lisa Pepper, head of mediation at Osbornes Law, said “anything that encourages families to think twice before embarking on lengthy, expensive and acrimonious court proceedings is a good idea. The funding to the courts system is to the bone and until people are in it, they don’t realise how slow it can be – 9 months wait for a first hearing is not uncommon and that’s not the end of the case, that’s just a first hearing.”
Sarah Anticoni, a partner at Charles Russell Speechlys said: “Delay often benefits one parent, but usually, any delay means a child is caught in the midst of a conflict. Perhaps court delays will remind parents that they have faster and cheaper choices in resolving a child dispute, including mediation and arbitration.”