On 1st September, it was announced that the Ministry of Justice had made a further £800,000 available for the Family Mediation Council (FMC) to distribute as vouchers to families who could benefit from mediation services.
The FMC has projected that, at the current rate of allocation, this means vouchers should now be available until mid-December.
Back in April, Dutton Gregory helped raise awareness of a new Government scheme where separating couples could claim up to £500 towards the cost of mediation that involving matters relating to children. At that time is was anticipated up to 2,000 families would be able to claim these ‘Mediation Vouchers’.
Yesterday’s announcement means a lot more families will benefit from this scheme, both reducing mediation costs for them and keeping cases out of the Family Courts, which are extremely busy catching up with the backlog of cases caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. .
Mediation is seen as a quicker, cheaper and less stressful alternative to court proceedings. Mediation is tailored to your needs, concerns and interests. A mediator will help both parties work towards a mutually satisfactory outcome.
