Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in how many cases funding has been provided for the first single session of family mediation where one of the participants qualifies for legal aid in the last 12 months.

Mr Shailesh Vara

This Government wants people to resolve disputes away from court wherever possible, including through mediation which can be less stressful and more efficient. Between 1 October 2014 and 30 September 2015, public funding was provided for the first single session of family mediation where only one of the participants was eligible for legal aid in 6,022 cases. This is the latest 12-month period for which figures are available. Public funding became available on this basis during this period, on 3 November 2014. Figures are only available for cases that have completed and for which the bill has been submitted to the Legal Aid Agency by the mediation provider.