Charity calls on government to put its ‘money where its mouth is’ with mediation voucher scheme extension

NFM criticises ‘stick vs carrot’ approach to clearing family court backlog

A national charity that provides mediation for families in conflict has called on the government to ‘put its money where its mouth is’ when it comes to making mediation a default option for warring families.

The call to action comes after reports that Dominic Raab is backing efforts to use mediation as a way of clearing the backlog in the family courts, with plans afoot to introduce financial penalties for parents who bring unnecessary claims to court.

However, despite welcoming the efforts to encourage more families to engage in mediation Jane Robey, CEO of the charity National Family Mediation (NFM), says the government’s ‘stick vs carrot’ approach is ‘fraught with difficulties’ – especially the punitive measures proposed for uncooperative parents’.

Instead, she has urged the government to urgently confirm the extension of a voucher scheme which provides families with up to £500 towards the cost of mediation. A scheme that is rapidly running out of funds, and due to expire in December.

Jane said: “The voucher scheme, which has already been extended once due to its success, is about to expire – just as we approach the start of a new year, and one of the busiest periods for separation, divorce and family conflict.

“Everyone agrees it is working, and that where mediation is used to help resolve conflict the outcome is cheaper, more speedily reached, and certainly more durable and long lasting.”

The body of evidence gathered through the voucher scheme shows 77% of parents reach agreement using mediation. That is a success rate to be celebrated. And of those cases 73% did not go on to use court to settle their dispute another cause to celebrate especially for the courts and MOJ.

However, according to Robey the success of the government mediation voucher scheme to date means the funds are likely to run out well before the December deadline

Jane added: “Based on our calculations, the additional £800k put aside to help an extra 1600 families is rapidly running out – just in time for the Christmas period, which is historically a time when parents head off to court to get a judge to make their holiday arrangements because they can’t agree. It’s unlikely to last beyond the end of the month at this rate.

“Before introducing fines for people who don’t necessarily understand that they have a choice NOT to go to court, make the alternative remedies accessible.

“If the government is serious about introducing incentives to spare children the trauma of seeing their parents fight it out in court, then it’s time to put their money where their mouth is and extend the scheme indefinitely.”

NFM is also encouraging families to apply to use the government voucher scheme to use mediation to agree plans for the Christmas period.

The move comes as the family courts continue to face a significant backlog of cases, a problem which has been made worse by the pandemic.

Jane Robey, CEO of National Family Mediation, said: “Christmas arrangements are usually made separate to other contact arrangements, and typically speaking the Courts try to order alternate xmas days.

“However, year after year we see the same disputes amongst parents and a real sticking point is who gets to have the kids on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. It’s a very emotive topic.

“This year is going to be harder as many haven’t seen their families because of lockdown last year so parents need to make a supreme effort to make sure the kids don’t miss out again, and so the sooner families come together to put a plan in place that works for everyone, the better.

“While the court may have capacity to hear a handful of the more extreme cases, the reality is that it is too late for most people. Mediation is a great alternative, and the funding means it is really accessible to everyone too.

“The voucher scheme means that everyone can access the support they need, but time is running out and so we would really encourage anyone who wants to engage with mediation to put plans in place for Christmas act now.”

Cover photo By KatarzynaBialasiewicz on Canva