On behalf of the profession of family mediators the Family Mediation Council greatly welcomes the news that, in accordance with the new Pre-Action Protocol, parties engaged in disputes involving family issues will be expected to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting before any application to the court can proceed.
Publicly funded parties have long been required to attend such a meeting and it seems fair and sensible that this welcome requirement – and opportunity – should be extended across the board to privately funded parties.
All parties to such disputes will now be able to find out about mediation, and to make informed decisions as to whether they would like to try to resolve them in a way that not only allows them to reach their own decisions for settlement but is also considerably less costly to the family, always financially and often emotionally.
Family mediation can hugely reduce the level of acrimony in family breakdown by assisting those involved to move forward into their changed lives with better communication and understanding, which in turn greatly helps any children affected.
This is a wonderful initiative which firmly puts family mediation in its rightful place as an integral part of the family justice system.
Deborah Turner
Convenor Family Mediation Council