Recent data released by the Office for National Statistics indicate that Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings (MIAMs) held in England and Wales increased by 43% between April and June 2021 compared to the same quarter of 2020, with mediation starts 55% higher and outcomes 60% higher. The 2020 figures of course reflect the impact of the early months of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, in the same period in 2021, 66,357 new cases began in the family courts. It is clear that the family courts are squeezed way beyond capacity, evidenced by the many delays to hearings or hearings being transferred from court to court, resulting in months of waiting for parents desperate to have contact with their children.
Locally in Exeter, a court triage system has been introduced—but rather than alleviate the delays, it actually seems to exacerbate the situation with a wait for a first hearing increasing from six - eight weeks to 15 weeks. The backlog and
