Public funds made available for mediation have failed to boost take-up, with family mediations falling dramatically in April, May and June this year. At the point when legal aid was withdrawn from most family cases, on 1 April, £10m was allocated to family mediations. But founder of Focus Mediation, Mary Barnham-Hall, said the loss of legal aid had ended the ‘funding code referral’ that required those receiving legal aid to attend a meeting with a mediator.