The Government recognises the value of mediation in helping parties to resolve disputes more swiftly, consensually and in a less adversarial manner. Where mediation is successful, all parties will be spared the time and stress of litigation.

The Civil Procedure Rules were amended to give judges power to order parties to undertake mediation where they deem it would be appropriate and beneficial. Whether, and how, parties engage with offers or requests for mediation can be considered by the courts when exercising its discretion with respect to costs.

The Government has no plans to introduce mandatory mediation for contested probate disputes.

Women Against State Pension Inequality Ltd (WASPI) are seeking permission from the High Court to bring a Judicial Review on our response to the Ombudsman’s report. We are not able to comment on live litigation, but full details of our decision in this case are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-parliamentary-and-health-service-o29mbudsmans-investigation-into-womens-state-pension-age-communications-and-associated-issues.

Women Against State Pension Inequality Ltd (WASPI) are seeking permission from the High Court to bring a Judicial Review on our response to the Ombudsman’s report. We are not able to comment on live litigation, but full details of our decision in this case are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-parliamentary-and-health-service-o29mbudsmans-investigation-into-womens-state-pension-age-communications-and-associated-issues.

This Government recognises the vital role that legal aid and mediation plays in supporting individuals to resolve their family disputes. We know that the civil and family legal aid market, including family mediation, is facing challenges and we are taking steps to address these.

We are undertaking a programme to transform the delivery of legal aid and the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) systems over this Parliament. The programme seeks to deliver flexible, secure services designed around the end-to-end legal aid user journey and to reduce administrative burdens for legal aid providers.

Last year, the Government spent £854 million on family legal aid, and we continue to keep family legal aid policy under review.

Alongside legal aid, we are also committed to supporting more families reach agreement outside of court through mediation, where it is safe and appropriate to do so. The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, introduced in April 2021, is available to families across England and Wales. The scheme offers up to £500 towards mediation costs.

The LAA does not hold information about the number of individual mediators able to provide family legal aid mediation services as it contracts with providers at an organisational level. The LAA publishes data on the number of contracted providers delivering legal aid services as part of its official statistics - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2025. Statistics for the most recent published period show there are 87 providers with a family mediation contract. Although contracts may be linked to a single office, mediation providers operate multiple outreach arrangements through which services are delivered. Unlike other civil categories of law there are no defined geographic procurement areas, so providers can operate across England and Wales. Some providers include large numbers of outreach locations on their schedules, in some cases running into the hundreds. Details of the outreach locations for each mediation provider can be found in the published Directory of Legal Aid Providers - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers.

Procurement for legal aid contracts, including family mediation contracts, is operated under the ‘always on principle’ so that the procurement remains open during the life of the contract. This means providers can apply for a contract or expand their services at any time, rather than waiting for a fixed tender period. This flexible approach is designed to maintain and grow the supply of legal aid services by encouraging further supply into the market, alongside quicker process times for bids and simplified documentation, reducing barriers to entry.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all those engaging in mediation can obtain the services of a suitably qualified mediator and has recently confirmed continued funding for the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme.

This scheme gives all those who qualify, including separating and divorcing couples, a £500 single use voucher to spend on family mediation, provided that their dispute or application involves a child. The mediation can only be carried out by Family Mediators who are accredited by the Family Mediation Council.

Since the scheme was established in 2021, 58,670 vouchers have been approved (as of 18 June 2026).

The Ministry of Justice works closely with the Family Mediation Council (FMC) to ensure that the information provided to all eligible couples when they enter the Family Court system regarding the benefits of non-court dispute resolution, including family mediation, is complete and up to date.

The Ministry of Justice and the FMC also work together to facilitate and support the use of family mediation more generally, for example by ensuring that guidance remains useful and effective.

Information on non-court dispute resolution including mediation, is included as part of the recently updated Gov.UK pages and online tools designed to help separating parents: Making child arrangements if you divorce or separate: Other ways to agree without going to court - GOV.UK.

The Ministry of Justice has co-operated with the FMC to ensure the effective running of the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, which requires participating mediators to be accredited by the FMC. This scheme gives all those who qualify, including separating and divorcing couples, a £500 single-use voucher to spend on family mediation, provided that their dispute or application involves a child.

Since the scheme was established in 2021, 58,670 vouchers have been approved (as of 18 June 2026).

This Government recognises the vital role that legal aid and mediation plays in supporting individuals to resolve their family disputes. We know that the civil and family legal aid market, including family mediation, is facing challenges and we are taking steps to address these.

We are undertaking a programme to transform the delivery of legal aid and the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) systems over this Parliament. The programme seeks to deliver flexible, secure services designed around the end-to-end legal aid user journey and to reduce administrative burdens for legal aid providers.

Last year, the Government spent £854 million on family legal aid, and we continue to keep family legal aid policy under review.

Alongside legal aid, we are also committed to supporting more families reach agreement outside of court through mediation, where it is safe and appropriate to do so. The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, introduced in April 2021, is available to families across England and Wales. The scheme offers up to £500 towards mediation costs.

The LAA does not hold information about the number of individual mediators able to provide family legal aid mediation services as it contracts with providers at an organisational level. The LAA publishes data on the number of contracted providers delivering legal aid services as part of its official statistics - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2025. Statistics for the most recent published period show there are 87 providers with a family mediation contract. Although contracts may be linked to a single office, mediation providers operate multiple outreach arrangements through which services are delivered. Unlike other civil categories of law there are no defined geographic procurement areas, so providers can operate across England and Wales. Some providers include large numbers of outreach locations on their schedules, in some cases running into the hundreds. Details of the outreach locations for each mediation provider can be found in the published Directory of Legal Aid Providers - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers.

Procurement for legal aid contracts, including family mediation contracts, is operated under the ‘always on principle’ so that the procurement remains open during the life of the contract. This means providers can apply for a contract or expand their services at any time, rather than waiting for a fixed tender period. This flexible approach is designed to maintain and grow the supply of legal aid services by encouraging further supply into the market, alongside quicker process times for bids and simplified documentation, reducing barriers to entry.

Research shows that mediation can reduce the likelihood of disputes escalating to appeals, enabling families and local authorities to work collaboratively to resolve disagreements more quickly and collaboratively.

We are engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders, including families, local authorities, representative groups and providers, to identify what more can be done to raise awareness of mediation, address the barriers to effective mediation and share best practice. As a first step, we intend to improve mediation through clearer national guidance for families and professionals, and by supporting improved local authority compliance with existing duties.

Where early resolution is not possible, the special educational needs and disabilities tribunal will continue to act as an important legal backstop for key decisions about education, health and care plans.

The Government recognises the value of mediation in helping parties to resolve disputes more swiftly and consensually. Since integrated mediation was introduced for county court small claims under £10,000 in 2024, parties have been required, as part of the litigation process, to attend a free, one-hour appointment with HMCTS’ Small Claims Mediation Service.

HMCTS supports this by issuing guidance to parties and writing to them in advance of their appointment with practical information about the mediation process, including relevant contact details. Judges also retain discretion to apply sanctions where a party fails to engage appropriately.

The Employment Rights Act (ERA) is part of the Government’s commitment to Make Work Pay. The Act includes measures that strengthens worker’s rights, which we expect will increase demand in the Employment Tribunal. The impact on the Employment Tribunal has been considered in the published impact assessments and economic analysis. A summary of the impact of the number of employment disputes before the Employment Tribunal is available in Table A11 here: Employment Rights Act 2025: economic analysis.

It is a question for the judiciary on whether they would like to expand judicial mediation. Judges can choose to mediate, depending on whether they think the case is appropriate, which is typically claims of discrimination or complex unfair dismissals.

We do recognise that there are significant demand pressures on the Employment Tribunals and are therefore working with the judiciary, HMCTS and the Department for Business and Trade on any further actions needed to alleviate pressures on the Employment Tribunals, improve efficiency and reduce waiting times to ensure the Employment Tribunal is able to absorb the impact of the Employment Rights Act whilst ensuring timely access to justice for claimants and respondents.

The Government recognises the value of mediation and other forms of dispute resolution in helping parties resolve disputes more swiftly and consensually. We continue to explore and assess the potential merits of dispute resolution across different jurisdictions, including tribunals.

However, any changes to the Tribunal Procedure Rules will be made by the Tribunal Procedure Committee, an independent statutory body, who are responsible for the making of rules that govern tribunal practice and procedure. The provisions in the Courts and Tribunals Bill relating to the office of the Senior President of Tribunals concern judicial leadership and do not alter day-to-day decision-making in tribunals cases.

The Government recognises the value of mediation in helping parties to resolve disputes more swiftly and consensually. Since integrated mediation was introduced for county court small claims under £10,000 in 2024, parties have been required, as part of the litigation process, to attend a free, one-hour appointment with HMCTS’ Small Claims Mediation Service. A formal evaluation of integrated mediation will be published this summer and will inform decisions on any future expansion.

In the tribunals, where disputes are resolved without the need for a full hearing, this can reduce demand and capacity pressures. The Department recognises the potential benefits of mediation and will consider carefully the merits and potential impact of any further reform in tribunals to encourage this, while respecting judicial independence.

Further expansion of the use of mediation, would need to take into account the differing characteristics of individual tribunal jurisdictions and the interests of tribunal users. There are currently no further plans by the Government to assess the merits of making mediation mandatory or extending judicial powers to order mediation in the tribunals or to assess the impact of such measures on tribunal backlogs.

The Government recognises the value of mediation in helping parties to resolve disputes more swiftly and consensually. Since integrated mediation was introduced for county court small claims under £10,000 in 2024, parties have been required, as part of the litigation process, to attend a free, one-hour appointment with HMCTS’ Small Claims Mediation Service. A formal evaluation of integrated mediation will be published this summer and will inform decisions on any future expansion.

In the tribunals, where disputes are resolved without the need for a full hearing, this can reduce demand and capacity pressures. The Department recognises the potential benefits of mediation and will consider carefully the merits and potential impact of any further reform in tribunals to encourage this, while respecting judicial independence.

Further expansion of the use of mediation, would need to take into account the differing characteristics of individual tribunal jurisdictions and the interests of tribunal users. There are currently no further plans by the Government to assess the merits of making mediation mandatory or extending judicial powers to order mediation in the tribunals or to assess the impact of such measures on tribunal backlogs.

The Government recognises the value of mediation in helping parties to resolve disputes more swiftly and consensually. Since integrated mediation was introduced for county court small claims under £10,000 in 2024, parties have been required, as part of the litigation process, to attend a free, one-hour appointment with HMCTS’ Small Claims Mediation Service. A formal evaluation of integrated mediation will be published this summer and will inform decisions on any future expansion.

In the tribunals, where disputes are resolved without the need for a full hearing, this can reduce demand and capacity pressures. The Department recognises the potential benefits of mediation and will consider carefully the merits and potential impact of any further reform in tribunals to encourage this, while respecting judicial independence.

Further expansion of the use of mediation, would need to take into account the differing characteristics of individual tribunal jurisdictions and the interests of tribunal users. There are currently no further plans by the Government to assess the merits of making mediation mandatory or extending judicial powers to order mediation in the tribunals or to assess the impact of such measures on tribunal backlogs.

The Government recognises the value of mediation in helping parties to resolve disputes more swiftly and consensually. Since integrated mediation was introduced for county court small claims under £10,000 in 2024, parties have been required, as part of the litigation process, to attend a free, one-hour appointment with HMCTS’ Small Claims Mediation Service. A formal evaluation of integrated mediation will be published this summer and will inform decisions on any future expansion.

In the tribunals, where disputes are resolved without the need for a full hearing, this can reduce demand and capacity pressures. The Department recognises the potential benefits of mediation and will consider carefully the merits and potential impact of any further reform in tribunals to encourage this, while respecting judicial independence.

Further expansion of the use of mediation, would need to take into account the differing characteristics of individual tribunal jurisdictions and the interests of tribunal users. There are currently no further plans by the Government to assess the merits of making mediation mandatory or extending judicial powers to order mediation in the tribunals or to assess the impact of such measures on tribunal backlogs.

We continue to work across government to make the dispute resolution system more resilient, so that that the measures in the Employment Rights Act can be effectively enforced. We recognise the benefits of mediation in resolving disputes swiftly.

A joint DBT/MoJ Taskforce—working with Acas and representatives from business, unions, and other experts —is considering reforms to strengthen dispute resolution.

This includes considering how to maximise use of informal options including meditation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.

It is to the benefit of all parties involved in litigation that disputes are managed efficiently. The government, therefore, supports the use, where appropriate, of mediation as a means to resolve disputes without the expense of litigation.

The government is conducting a review of the opt-out collective actions regime for competitive claims before the Competition Appeal Tribunal. The review considers all aspects of the regime, including the role of alternative dispute resolution, and a consultation on proposals for change will be published in due course.

The Office for Responsible Business Conduct’s (ORBC) Dispute Resolution Service, formerly the UK National Contact Point, operates independently from Ministers. In line with the ORBC’s rules of procedure, mediation has been offered to both parties to the Complaint following the publication of the Initial Assessment on the 7^th of January 2026.