The government’s new mediation protocol came into force yesterday, requiring couples to attend a mediation awareness session before embarking on legal proceedings to resolve financial and children-related issues after divorce or separation.

Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly has become a dedicated follower of mediation, heralding it as the ‘quicker, cheaper and less confrontational’ option to going to court.

He has proposed removing legal aid for parties in private law family seeking to take their cases to court, though funding for mediation will remain.

Mediation is undoubtedly a preferable way than court to resolve many disputes, and has high success rates.

But there is no coincidence that the government’s drive to mediation has come at a time when it is being forced to make massive spending cuts.

Djanogly’s main aims are to reduce the number of people going to court and cut the amount of legal aid spent on family law.

The Law Society and other representative groups such as Resolution, while welcoming an increased public awareness of mediation and other dispute resolution methods, have cautioned that mediation will not be the most appropriate way to decide arguments in all cases.

They have also warned that any mediation service will need to be properly resourced by well-trained and skilled mediators.

Whether the government’s commitment to mediation is merely a cloak to cover its spending cuts, remains to be seen. But whether or not it is prepared to stump up the cash for a quality mediation service may provide some indication of the answer.