The survey found that:

• too many family breakdown cases are going to court rather than being settled through MEDIATION;
• children and financial issues resolved through professional MEDIATION are cheaper, quicker to settle and less acrimonious;
• solicitors and legal advisers have a duty to advise their clients of the option of MEDIATION but one in three people had not been told that mediation was an option, and the report suggested that there may be a financial disincentive to solicitors of advising people about mediation since a case settled out of court results in a loss of potential fees to them.

As an independent mediator at CHARTER MEDIATION I acknowledge that we work in tandem with, and are complementary too, the legal profession and respect their breadth of expertise. However, as mediators, we offer specialist help and all the benefits highlighted by the NAO Report PLUS a significant benefit which most solicitors cannot match - our impartiality in helping families find fair, reasonable and agreed solutions to problems in family breakdown.

The financial incentive to use mediation, as outlined in the NAO Report, suggests that mediation offers cost savings in excess of 55% and that matters, on average, will be resolved through mediation in 3½ months as against an average of 14½ months through non-mediated process (with 30% of cases through non-mediated process taking more than 18 months to complete).

For further information please contact us at info@chartermediation.co.uk
and the full National Audit Office press notice can be found at http://www.nao.org.uk/pn/06-07/0607256.htm

Bill Cardno MCIArb