Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to minimise or remove adversarialism from the family justice process.

The Government is committed to ensuring that family law disputes are resolved effectively, swiftly and with the minimum stress and cost to families and is delivering reforms across the family justice system to strengthen the wellbeing, safety and support available to those navigating it.

These measures include the national rollout of Child Focused Courts, which provides a non-adversarial, problem-solving approach to family law proceedings and enables the court to make safe decisions without delay. We also continue to encourage non-court dispute resolution where this is safe and appropriate, such as via the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, which gives all those who qualify a £500, non-means tested, single use voucher to spend on family mediation, as long as their dispute or application involves a child.

Since the scheme was established in 2021, 64,765 vouchers have been approved as of 4 November 2026.