In what has been dubbed ‘divorce week’, new Justice Minister Simon Hughes has announced that separating couples in England and Wales will be helped to avoid court battles through compulsory use of mediation services.
The first working day after Christmas is traditionally very busy for divorce lawyers, as couples pushed to distraction by the Christmas break rush to start divorce proceedings.
However, the Government is planning to introduce a scheme, included in the Children and Families’ Bill, under which those applying for a court order about a child or financial matter must first attend a mediation information and assessment meeting, so that couples can separate “in the least damaging way for everyone included”.
The move comes after several failed attempts to divert some of the 120,000 couples who separate in England and Wales each year to attend mediation, which, in a recent survey of clients by a national organisation of family lawyers, is said to be unpopular with around half of those polled.
According to Mr Hughes, mediation works and is a better experience for all concerned than the “confrontational and stressful experience of going to court”.
The cost of divorce is also expensive for the taxpayer through legal aid, as according to ministers, the average cost to the taxpayer of resolving a private family dispute following a relationship breakdown is approximately £500 per couple through mediation, compared with £4,000 per person in legal aid for issues settled through the courts. The Government is currently trying to cut the legal aid bill by £220m.
In addition, there would be a considerable time saving, as the average time for a mediated case is 110 days, compared with 435 days for non-mediated cases. However, cases involving domestic violence would be exempt from the plans.