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Mediation Matters: Misquoting statistics will not help mediation’s cause
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There was an awkward moment for Courts and Legal Aid Minister Shailesh Vara when he appeared before the Commons Justice Select Committee earlier this month and took questions about the impact of LASPO on mediation.
Misinterpreting a recent NFM statement about an upturn in referrals to our affiliated services the Minister appeared to claim it as evidence that government policy was achieving its stated aim: an increase in separating people going to family mediation rather than heading straight off to the family court queue. 'I would like to think ' he said 'this is partly due to the MOJ being proactive in making sure that more people are aware that mediation is available.'
In response Committee member Andy McDonald referred to evidence NFM ourselves gave to the same committee in which we explained that referrals received through government-funded channels are pitifully low. At the time as McDonald recalled we’d had zero referrals through...
Read the full article here.
