The Family Mediation Council (FMC) has welcomed the extension of the Ministry of Justice’s family mediation voucher scheme. The scheme makes up to £500 available for each separating family which need to make arrangements for children to spend on mediation, helping over 70% of those reach agreement and avoid protracted and stressful court proceedings. It was launched in March 2021 with an initial fund of £1m, which has helped over 2000 families. This has now been extended by a further £800,000.
John Taylor, chair of the FMC said: ‘The extension of the scheme is excellent news for families. The voucher funding has opened up mediation to those who could previously not afford it, encouraged those who might otherwise have been reluctant to give it a try, and enabled children (usually over the age of 10) to be consulted as part of the mediation process, all with excellent results.’
Family mediators help parents make plans for the future and to decide together what will work best for their children without having to go to court and ask someone else to decide; they help parents focus on a child’s needs, helping them make arrangements for the immediate future and to find a healthy way to communicate going forward. The vouchers which provide up to £500 of funding for mediation sessions are available through Family Mediation Council Accredited Mediators – find your nearest mediator here.
More details about the family mediation voucher scheme are available here.
