This the second in our series of blogs about financial help for family mediation. In this post I’ll explain the Family Voucher Scheme.
Set up in 2021, the Family Voucher Scheme provides help with costs for parents who want to take part in family mediation, and it has helped over 15,000 families. The good news is that the government have agreed the scheme will continue until 2026. The details are:
- The scheme is not ‘means tested’ – which means there are no limits placed on participating parent’s income or capital that prevent them receiving funding.
- The scheme provides £500 to be shared between the two parents taking part in mediation.
- The funds can be used together with Legal Aid for Family Mediation. For example, one parent being funded by the Family Voucher Scheme and one by Legal Aid.
- The dispute between parents must involve children and can be referred on to the Family Court, if parents cannot agree.
- The scheme does not cover the cost of the initial meetings parents have with the mediators (Mediation Information & Assessments Meetings or MIAM’s), but it does cover joint meetings and agreements.
- The mediator will apply for the voucher, you’ll just need to read and sign the consent form.
The amount of mediation the scheme will pay for depends on the mediator’s charges per session or an agreement. At ARC Resolution we charge £250 for a joint meeting and £250 for a joint agreement. This means that parents will either have two joint meetings paid for, or one joint meeting and an agreement.
If you’d like to know more about how mediation can help in a family dispute and how Legal Aid and/or the Family Voucher scheme can support you, then give us a call on 01223 459713 or WhatsApp message us on 07444 138420.
You can read more about our service at: https://arcresolution.co.uk/familymediation/ and details about the Family Voucher Scheme can be found at: https://www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk/mediation-vouchers/
by Dave Warren 11.4.25
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