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65165

registered interest
date	01/07/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Mediation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to reverse the fall in take-up of family mediation for separating and divorcing couples.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	203498
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2014 answer text <p>We have changed the law to require people to consider mediation before applying to the Family Court. This will encourage people to resolve their issues through mediation rather than court, where appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>We are delivering a wide-ranging programme of activity to improve public awareness about family mediation and to make sure that advice agencies are providing the right information about it. This includes being very clear that legal aid is still available for mediation and for legal support for mediation.</p><p> </p><p>I have taken the opportunity to engage directly with mediation and legal practitioners about the issues facing them at the moment. I have hosted a webchat for people to come forward and offer ideas to encourage people to use family mediation and launched an online tool called Dialogue where people can post their ideas.</p><p> </p><p>I have hosted two roundtable meetings to discuss increasing the take-up of family mediation with key figures in the mediation profession. The ideas from these events were considered by the Family Mediation Task Force, which was chaired by David Norgrove. The ‘Report of the Family Mediation Task Force' has been published on the mediation Dialogue webpage at: <a title="http://bit.ly/1o7roWW" href="http://bit.ly/1o7roWW" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1o7roWW</a>. The report makes recommendations about increasing the uptake of family mediation. The Government will respond in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 07/07/2014 08:57:15 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

63946

registered interest
date	25/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Mediation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of cases in which compulsory mediation and information meetings would have been appropriate in 2013-14; and what funding is being made available in 2014-15 to provide that service.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	202292
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2014 answer text <p>We do not have the data to allow us to assess how many family court applications filed in 2013-14 might have been appropriate for a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) in comparison with the number of MIAMs actually attended. In 2013/14 13,354 couples attended a publicly funded MIAM (that is, where at least one of the parties was legally aided).</p><p> </p><p>Implementation of the Children and Families Act 2014 on 22 April 2014 means that attendance at a MIAM is now compulsory for the potential applicant.</p><p> </p><p>Public funding (legal aid) remains in scope for family mediation for those who qualify on means and merits<em>, and the budget for legal aid for mediation is uncapped. In 2013/14, the LAA spent £9m on mediation.</em> If one party is funded the other will be covered for the MIAM as well. Legal help with mediation is also available for the funded party and includes help from a lawyer with applying to the court for a consent order based on the agreement reached in mediation.</p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 02/07/2014 16:44:18 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

63332

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Mediation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is towards funding the Help with Family Mediation scheme.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	201797
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2014 answer text <p>There has been a significant decrease in referrals to publicly funded family mediation since April 2013 when the legal aid reforms were implemented. This is in part due to fewer people visiting solicitors who previously would have directed clients to mediation.</p><p> </p><p>Before April 2013, attendance at a Mediation Information Assessment Meeting (MIAM) was a pre-requisite for legal representation for people eligible to obtain public funding. We introduced a statutory MIAM in April 2014 as part of the Children and Families Act. This placed a legal obligation on an applicant to attend a MIAM for the purpose of considering mediation, before being permitted to issue court proceedings in certain private family law matters (children and financial disputes).</p><p> </p><p>Legal aid remains available for mediation (and for legal help with mediation) for those who meet the eligibility criteria. We are keen to encourage mediation as an alternative to court both for those eligible for public funding and for privately funded cases.</p><p> </p><p>We are aware that a small number of mediation services have closed or are in difficulty. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is constantly monitoring the situation to make sure there is sufficient provision for client access to mediation services. While a decline in demand is a contributory factor in mediation service closures, another significant factor is poor and unsustainable business models. There is some evidence that a number of the mediation services which have closed following legal aid reforms were vulnerable to closure before the reforms took effect.</p><p> </p><p>I have convened a Family Mediation Task Force, chaired by David Norgrove, which has considered many of the issues raised by the Member of Parliament for Exeter, including how to reverse the fall in referrals and engage the second party in the mediation process, and incentivising mediators and lawyers to work in partnership to support clients through the resolution of their dispute in compliance with the new legislation. A number of short-term financial options have been considered as well as the long term view for the future of dispute resolution services.</p><p> </p><p>The Taskforce report will be published imminently. The Government will respond to the report in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 201782 201786 201790 201799 201800 question first answered 26/06/2014 16:26:36 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

63333

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Mediation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been spent on legally aided family mediation in each of the last four years for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	201796
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2014 answer text <p>Statistics on the volume and value of family mediation funded through legal aid are contained within legal aid statistics: April 2013 to March 2014 (www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322466/legal-aid-statistics-2013-14.pdf ). Tables 7.1 and 7.2 contain family mediation data between 2006-07 and 2013-14.</p><p> </p><p>An extract of the legal aid spend on family mediation is included in the table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>MIAMS</p><p>Volumes</p></td><td><p>MIAMS expenditure</p></td><td><p>Mediations</p><p>Starts</p></td><td><p>Mediations</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>26,388</p></td><td><p>£6,276,568</p></td><td><p>14,186</p></td><td><p>£6,997,924</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>31,338</p></td><td><p>£7,796,253</p></td><td><p>15,357</p></td><td><p>£6,917,892</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>30,662</p></td><td><p>£8,053,106</p></td><td><p>13,609</p></td><td><p>£6,307,518</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>13,354</p></td><td><p>£3,182,662</p></td><td><p>8,400</p></td><td><p>£4,291,680</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The large drop off in 2013-14 was due to removal of mandatory MIAM for onward legal aid funding, which meant that solicitors were no longer referring to mediation. We introduced a statutory MIAM in April 2014 as part of the Children and Families Act which places a legal obligation on an applicant to attend a MIAM before being able to issue court proceedings in certain private family law matters (children and financial disputes).</p><p> </p><p>It is too early to say what impact the introduction of statutory MIAMs has had on referral numbers but anecdotally we have heard from mediators and the judiciary that referrals are increasing and the message is getting through to the public.</p><p> </p><p>Family mediation is not regulated by this Department but legal aid remains available for mediation for those who meet the eligibility criteria.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 201798 question first answered 26/06/2014 15:57:11 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

63336

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Mediation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that family mediation fees remain affordable.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	201798
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2014 answer text <p>Statistics on the volume and value of family mediation funded through legal aid are contained within legal aid statistics: April 2013 to March 2014 (www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322466/legal-aid-statistics-2013-14.pdf ). Tables 7.1 and 7.2 contain family mediation data between 2006-07 and 2013-14.</p><p> </p><p>An extract of the legal aid spend on family mediation is included in the table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>MIAMS</p><p>Volumes</p></td><td><p>MIAMS expenditure</p></td><td><p>Mediations</p><p>Starts</p></td><td><p>Mediations</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>26,388</p></td><td><p>£6,276,568</p></td><td><p>14,186</p></td><td><p>£6,997,924</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>31,338</p></td><td><p>£7,796,253</p></td><td><p>15,357</p></td><td><p>£6,917,892</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>30,662</p></td><td><p>£8,053,106</p></td><td><p>13,609</p></td><td><p>£6,307,518</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>13,354</p></td><td><p>£3,182,662</p></td><td><p>8,400</p></td><td><p>£4,291,680</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The large drop off in 2013-14 was due to removal of mandatory MIAM for onward legal aid funding, which meant that solicitors were no longer referring to mediation. We introduced a statutory MIAM in April 2014 as part of the Children and Families Act which places a legal obligation on an applicant to attend a MIAM before being able to issue court proceedings in certain private family law matters (children and financial disputes).</p><p> </p><p>It is too early to say what impact the introduction of statutory MIAMs has had on referral numbers but anecdotally we have heard from mediators and the judiciary that referrals are increasing and the message is getting through to the public.</p><p> </p><p>Family mediation is not regulated by this Department but legal aid remains available for mediation for those who meet the eligibility criteria.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 201796 question first answered 26/06/2014 15:57:11 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

63339

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Law
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the recent increase in the number of parties representing themselves in court in private family law cases.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	201855
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2014 answer text <p>Litigants in person have always been a feature of the justice system. Data on disposals in the financial year prior to April 2013 indicate that in 64% of privatefamilylaw cases there was at least one party without recorded legal representation.</p><p> </p><p>We are closely monitoring the performance of the family justice system. The number of family cases where one or more parties present themselves is published in Courts Statistics Quarterly (www.gov.uk/government/collections/court-statistics-quarterly).</p><p> </p><p>Judges are trained to help people with no legal representation and are accustomed to doing so, including by explaining procedures and what is expected of the parties. We have taken steps to help people who either want to represent themselves in court or have to do so, which include publishing a revised guide for separating parents and more training for judges. The link to the guide is:</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/GetLeaflet.do?court_leaflets_id=2756" target="_blank">http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/GetLeaflet.do?court_leaflets_id=2756</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 201801 question first answered 26/06/2014 16:16:44 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

63340

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Mediation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to inform the public of the benefits of mediation.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	201794
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2014 answer text <p>We are delivering a wide-ranging programme of activity to improve public awareness and to make sure that advice agencies are providing the correct information about family mediation. This includes being very clear that legal aid is still available for mediation, and for legal support for mediation.</p><p> </p><p>We have taken action to update and improve information on our own websites and Gov.UK and we have included an article about mediation in the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) newsletter - aimed at advisors - to clarify that legal aid does remain available for mediation.</p><p> </p><p>We have also written to the mediation profession setting out some of the work we are doing and we continue to work very closely with the Family Mediation Council (FMC) to raise the profile of the court and that of the profession. This has principally included funding and working with the FMC to develop an improved website which can be used as a public signpost to mediation and information services, and developing a marketing ‘toolkit' to support mediators in promoting their services to prospective clients.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 201795 question first answered 26/06/2014 16:02:06 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

63341

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Mediation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to inform the public of the availability of legal aid for family mediation.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	201795
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2014 answer text <p>We are delivering a wide-ranging programme of activity to improve public awareness and to make sure that advice agencies are providing the correct information about family mediation. This includes being very clear that legal aid is still available for mediation, and for legal support for mediation.</p><p> </p><p>We have taken action to update and improve information on our own websites and Gov.UK and we have included an article about mediation in the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) newsletter - aimed at advisors - to clarify that legal aid does remain available for mediation.</p><p> </p><p>We have also written to the mediation profession setting out some of the work we are doing and we continue to work very closely with the Family Mediation Council (FMC) to raise the profile of the court and that of the profession. This has principally included funding and working with the FMC to develop an improved website which can be used as a public signpost to mediation and information services, and developing a marketing ‘toolkit' to support mediators in promoting their services to prospective clients.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 201794 question first answered 26/06/2014 16:02:06 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

63345

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Mediation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of introducing a free non-means tested initial mediation information and assessment meeting on the take-up of mediation.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	201790
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2014 answer text <p>There has been a significant decrease in referrals to publicly funded family mediation since April 2013 when the legal aid reforms were implemented. This is in part due to fewer people visiting solicitors who previously would have directed clients to mediation.</p><p> </p><p>Before April 2013, attendance at a Mediation Information Assessment Meeting (MIAM) was a pre-requisite for legal representation for people eligible to obtain public funding. We introduced a statutory MIAM in April 2014 as part of the Children and Families Act. This placed a legal obligation on an applicant to attend a MIAM for the purpose of considering mediation, before being permitted to issue court proceedings in certain private family law matters (children and financial disputes).</p><p> </p><p>Legal aid remains available for mediation (and for legal help with mediation) for those who meet the eligibility criteria. We are keen to encourage mediation as an alternative to court both for those eligible for public funding and for privately funded cases.</p><p> </p><p>We are aware that a small number of mediation services have closed or are in difficulty. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is constantly monitoring the situation to make sure there is sufficient provision for client access to mediation services. While a decline in demand is a contributory factor in mediation service closures, another significant factor is poor and unsustainable business models. There is some evidence that a number of the mediation services which have closed following legal aid reforms were vulnerable to closure before the reforms took effect.</p><p> </p><p>I have convened a Family Mediation Task Force, chaired by David Norgrove, which has considered many of the issues raised by the Member of Parliament for Exeter, including how to reverse the fall in referrals and engage the second party in the mediation process, and incentivising mediators and lawyers to work in partnership to support clients through the resolution of their dispute in compliance with the new legislation. A number of short-term financial options have been considered as well as the long term view for the future of dispute resolution services.</p><p> </p><p>The Taskforce report will be published imminently. The Government will respond to the report in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 201782 201786 201797 201799 201800 question first answered 26/06/2014 16:26:36 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

63361

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Mediation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the reasons for recent changes in the provision of not-for-profit mediation.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	201799
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2014 answer text <p>There has been a significant decrease in referrals to publicly funded family mediation since April 2013 when the legal aid reforms were implemented. This is in part due to fewer people visiting solicitors who previously would have directed clients to mediation.</p><p> </p><p>Before April 2013, attendance at a Mediation Information Assessment Meeting (MIAM) was a pre-requisite for legal representation for people eligible to obtain public funding. We introduced a statutory MIAM in April 2014 as part of the Children and Families Act. This placed a legal obligation on an applicant to attend a MIAM for the purpose of considering mediation, before being permitted to issue court proceedings in certain private family law matters (children and financial disputes).</p><p> </p><p>Legal aid remains available for mediation (and for legal help with mediation) for those who meet the eligibility criteria. We are keen to encourage mediation as an alternative to court both for those eligible for public funding and for privately funded cases.</p><p> </p><p>We are aware that a small number of mediation services have closed or are in difficulty. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is constantly monitoring the situation to make sure there is sufficient provision for client access to mediation services. While a decline in demand is a contributory factor in mediation service closures, another significant factor is poor and unsustainable business models. There is some evidence that a number of the mediation services which have closed following legal aid reforms were vulnerable to closure before the reforms took effect.</p><p> </p><p>I have convened a Family Mediation Task Force, chaired by David Norgrove, which has considered many of the issues raised by the Member of Parliament for Exeter, including how to reverse the fall in referrals and engage the second party in the mediation process, and incentivising mediators and lawyers to work in partnership to support clients through the resolution of their dispute in compliance with the new legislation. A number of short-term financial options have been considered as well as the long term view for the future of dispute resolution services.</p><p> </p><p>The Taskforce report will be published imminently. The Government will respond to the report in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 201782 201786 201790 201797 201800 question first answered 26/06/2014 16:26:36 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw