New £500 Mediation Voucher Scheme
Some people believe family mediation is free, I'm afraid to say it is not, but it is far cheaper than most of the other forms of ADR available. With Legal Aid, reduced fees for people of the Real Living Wage and the Family Mediation Vouchers from the Ministry of Justice - we are able to keep the costs as low as possible for you.
The Government runs a voucher scheme, which the Trust is part of. These vouchers enable each family to access a £500 towards the cost of their mediation sessions. The aim is to encourage people to seek resolution of their disputes outside of court. The funds will be administered through an easy to access mediation voucher.
These vouchers represent a real opportunity for clients who feel the cost of mediation is stopping them from accessing mediation. Working alongside the Legal Aid funding, these vouchers have the ability to make mediation of child cases accessible for everyone.
Key information about the vouchers:
Further details on the voucher scheme can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/family-mediation-voucher-scheme
How much does mediation cost?
The cost of mediation will vary according to your income level:
The following table sets out the relevant rates:
MIAM | £130 |
Mediation Session | £200 |
Mediation Session (for those on less than the Living Wage) | £135 |
MOU | £75 |
Child Inclusive Mediation (Child Session) | £75 |
Re-Issue of Papers | £25 |
Cancellation | If less than 3 working days’ notice - no refund |
Co-Mediation uplift | 40% on the mediation fee per session |
Shuttle Mediation Supplement | £35 |
Legal Aid Deposit | £25 |
1) All prices above include VAT.
2) All payments must be made before a mediation session or MIAM is booked.
3) The deposit is retained until the Legal Aid assessment is complete. If after your legal aid assessment you are not eligible for legal aid the deposit is not refunded, you will be able to either end your case or pay any additional fees in line with our standard charging.
4) The discounted rate is based on a client's ability to pay and does not count towards sessions covered by other support such as the vouchers.
5) All prices are per party, for example: if the mediation session is run as a shuttle session, then both parties will have to pay the £30 supplement to the mediation charge of either £135 or £200.
6) Mediation sessions are scheduled for up to 90 minutes. The Trust reserves the right to charge clients a pro-rata fee for any additional time spent in session beyond this allocation.
7) Co-mediation is a model adopted for cases that have high levels of complexity, the decision for co-mediation will be made by the mediator.
What is Legal Aid and will I be eligible?
To establish whether you are eligible for Legal Aid for mediation, take a look at the Legal Aid Calculator: www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid
If you would like us to assess whether you are eligible for Legal Aid in your mediation assessment meeting (MIAM), you will need to bring certain documents to your assessment meeting - we cannot assess your eligibility without these documents. Here is a current checklist of documents you will need to bring: Legal Aid Information of Clients current.pdf. Please note that you must bring paper copies, so that we can photocopy the evidence for our records; online or 'phone records are not sufficient. If you are unable to bring a paper copy, please contact us to arrange to send an email copy prior to your assessment meeting.
If the assessment finds that you are not eligible for Legal Aid, or if you are unable to produce the evidence needed to assess you, you will be charged by our standard rates.
When do I pay?
We take payment when we make a booking for a meeting.
How can I pay?
We take payment at the point you make the booking over the 'phone. We will accept payment via a credit or debit card. If you reserve a meeting through the website, then you will need to call to make payment. Failure to do this will mean that the meeting will not take place.
We would like to do a shuttle mediation session, what is the cost implication of this?
These sessions cost the Service more to run, so we do need to make a charge to cover these costs. The supplement fee for a shuttle mediation is £30 per person.
What happens if I cancel?
We know that plans can change, and sometimes you may need to rearrange or cancel your mediation appointment. We're here to support you—but to be fair to all clients and ensure we use our time effectively, we follow a clear cancellation and attendance policy.
Below, we’ve explained what happens in different situations.
If you cancel more than 3 working days before your session:
You won’t be charged.
If you're rebooking, we’ll simply move your appointment.
If you're not rebooking, we’ll close or place your case on hold, as agreed.
This applies to both private and Legal Aid clients.
If you cancel within 3 working days of your appointment, the process differs depending on how your case is funded:
Unfortunately, we’re not able to offer refunds.
If the session was to be funded through the governments voucher, then a payment for this session will be taken from you before the next session can be booked.
To rebook, you’ll need to make a new payment before we can offer a new date.
You won’t lose your Legal Aid eligibility—but we can’t rebook your session until we’ve received evidence relating to the late cancellation.
If you don’t attend your session and haven’t contacted us at least 30 minutes before it begins, here’s what happens:
You’ll need to make a full additional payment to rebook.
If the session was to be funded through the governments voucher, then a payment for this session will be taken from you before the next session can be booked.
Unfortunately, we can’t offer refunds for missed appointments.
Your case will be closed, and we’ll let the other person know.
You can contact us if you had a genuine emergency—we’ll always consider rebooking if the reason is valid and we’re informed promptly, we will need to see evidence for the emergency.
Sometimes, we may need to cancel due to staff illness or technical issues.
This applies to all clients:
We’ll always let you know as soon as possible.
We’ll offer you a new appointment, with no cost or loss of funding.