Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to raise public awareness of alternative dispute resolution services; and if he will make a statement.

The Government wants people to be able to resolve disputes in a way that is quick, efficient and cost effective and wants them to have a range of options available which encourages them to not just rely on the courts. This applies to both family and civil disputes.

We are committed to making sure that more people make use of mediation services to resolve family disputes arising from separation or divorce. Legal aid remains available for family mediation and for legal advice to support family mediation.

To improve public awareness and to make sure that advice agencies are providing the correct information about family mediation, we have:

• Refreshed our public information materials about family mediation – including posters, leaflets and videos;
  
• Worked with the Family Mediation Council to fund and project manage the launch of their new website which includes information aimed at the public about family mediation and a search tool to ‘find a mediator’;

• Produced a marketing toolkit for family mediators, to provide tips and advice aimed at helping family mediators to market themselves;

• Written to MPs earlier this year to make sure they are aware of the change in the law, and understand the advantages family mediation can offer; and

• Created a new front sheet for relevant family court application forms which highlights the advantages of mediation over court proceedings.

With regard to civil disputes, the Small Claims Mediation Service deals with monetary claims under £10,000 which are already going through the courts. If both parties agree to using mediation, they will be contacted by the Service. As most cases are dealt with by telephone, they save the time and the expense of having to go to court. In addition, the Civil Mediation Directory is an online tool listing a number of local and national civil and commercial mediation providers, all of whom are accredited by the Civil Mediation Council.