From 6th April 2011 anyone wishing to make an application to family court needs to consider using mediation first by attending a Mediation Information & Assessment Meeting (MIAM).
To the end of July 11, we have seen a 41% increase in referrals/enquiries compared to the same period last year and a 57% increase in MIAMs (similar to the assessment meetings which took place before mediation prior to 6th April). It is early days, but there also seems to be an increase in the number of mediation starts.