Family Mediation Voucher Scheme: FLiP welcomes extension

FLiP welcomes the announcement by the Government of a further extension of the family mediation voucher scheme (3 June 2022).

The Government has announced that an extra £5.4m of funding will be made available to the family mediation voucher scheme doubling in size the financial help provided and extending the scheme to March 2023. The family mediation voucher scheme provides those attending family mediation with a £500 voucher towards the cost of family mediation.

The statistics accompanying the Government’s latest announcement are encouraging. Since its introduction in March 2021, 8,400 vouchers have been taken up and this new funding will provide an additional 10,200 new mediation vouchers. Of the 2,800 mediations which have taken advantage of the voucher scheme, 65% have reached whole or partial agreement away from the courts.

Family mediation has significant advantages over the adversarial court based system for many families. It avoids the heightened tension often present in a court hearing and the mediation environment can help to foster a less confrontational atmosphere which can be particularly helpful when children are involved. As the statistics demonstrate it can help the parties to reach an agreement themselves, avoiding the need for a judge to impose a decision. The recent campaign led by the Family Solutions Group, Taking the Fight out of Family Separation #whataboutme, was strongly in favour of this approach.

At Family Law in Partnership we have an award winning family mediation team who offer a full range of family mediation services across all issues. We accept vouchers issued through the family mediation voucher scheme.

To learn more about the market leading family mediation services offered at FLiP, please visit our dedicated family mediation website page here. Here you will find a range of videos, podcasts and blogs to provide further information on what to expect if you are considering using family mediation at FLiP. You will also find information and profiles of our expert family mediators.