Individuals should play a greater role in solving their problems rather than turning to the courts, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said last week as he outlined government plans to support mediation in the wake of proposals to slash legal aid.

Speaking at the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, he said: ‘We need to work together to build the case for mediation and other forms of dispute resolution, so that it is adopted by the many and not just the few.’

Djanogly said the financial situation was ‘forcing us to tighten our belts’, but denied the government saw mediation ‘simply as a means of delivering savings and pushing people away from the justice system’.

Criticising the ‘litigious society’, he said the courts are too often seen as the first resort rather than the last. He said individuals should play a greater role in solving their problems, and the courts should only be used when a genuine point of law arises or where a person’s liberty or security is threatened.

The minister said the legal profession has an ‘invaluable role’ to play in supporting people in taking a less adversarial approach to solving their problems, and educating them about alternative dispute resolution.

Djanogly said the government will introduce proposals to build on the success of the small claims mediation scheme, and relaunch the pledge that requires government departments to use ADR where appropriate.