FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What about the Qualifications of your staff?

All mediators are professionally qualified, some with legal qualifications and they all have additional mediation training and qualifications. They have to do additional training each year to keep up to date. Counsellors all have a lot of experience in working with children and young people, and have a counselling or play therapy qualification.

What should I bring with me?

Please bring to your first appointment –

1. A copy of your most recent payslip
2. Proof of benefit (including child benefit)
3. Proof of Tax credits
4. You may also need a bank statement if that is the only proof you have of money received.

This is to enable us to check if you are eligible for legal help

What if my partner is violent?

Safety for all is a vital principle of mediation and you will always be given individual time to discuss this and other issues with a mediator. You need to be able to negotiate freely in mediation. Special arrangements may help with some of your concerns to enable mediation to proceed. However, mediation may not be right for you

What is your policy about records in mediation?

Mediators make outline factual notes of all sessions held and files are subject to audit by the Legal Services Commission. These records are confidential and cannot be shown to anyone else without your permission. All records are governed by the Data Protection Act 1998 and are securely stored for 6 years after which they are confidentially destroyed. If you have further questions your mediator or the service manager can help

Is the Service Confidential?

Mediation is confidential unless concerns about child protection or the safety of others are raised. If this happens, mediation cannot continue and we will encourage you to talk about your concerns with the relevant agencies eg. Social Services or police who will be able to investigate these important issues. However, as professionals we have final responsibility to make sure that appropriate action is taken to ensure safety of all concerned in mediation and in this instance confidentiality can no longer be guaranteed.

We have one other exception to confidentiality - the Proceeds of Crime Act. This covers any illegal financial dealings eg. benefit fraud, tax evasion. If we become aware of these kinds of irregularities, we have to stop mediation, and in some instances, may have to report the matter to NCIS

What is 'Without Prejudice'?

Not only is mediation confidential, it is also without prejudice. This means that your attendance at mediation, your discussions during your mediation, and your records, including final statements, cannot be used in Court to show advantage to either party. Your outcome statement or Memorandum of Understanding is not legally binding until it has been confirmed in writing between solicitors.

However the documents you produce for financial mediation are factual and are open to both people and to their solicitors and courts. These can be disclosed, and used as part of your legal proceedings.

Does mediation affect my legal rights?

Mediation works within the framework of your legal rights and responsibilities, so nothing you decide in mediation will be different from that. However both of you will have legal rights and so your expectations may be very different, based on the same legal advice – you cannot both have 60 or 70% of the assets! Mediation helps you to reach fair and workable decisions that are right for your family.

Do I need a solicitor?

It is very important that each person should have legal advice, (particularly if you are dealing with financial matters) indeed we encourage everyone to consult with a solicitor before making important financial decisions. You can find a solicitor from those who advertise in our leaflet or from the complete list of those with a family franchise, available from the Community Legal Services website.

What if I am not happy with the service I have received?

We would like to have views whether you are happy or unhappy in any way with our service. If you do have a complaint contact the service manager and we will do all we can to deal with it as quickly as possible.

Where are appointments held?

Here in the office in Middlesbrough, but also in Darlington, Peterlee, Hartlepool, Stockton, Redcar and Guisborough

We have maps and addresses in one of the tabs at the top of the website

What about cancellations?

We hope you will not have to cancel but if you do, we ask that you give us at least 24 hours notice – more is better so that we do not waste your appointment time. The outpost appointments are particularly costly for us to provide (though we do not ask for extra payments to cover this) so if you cancel one of these, we may have to ask you to come to Middlesbrough for the next one.

If your appointment was with your ex partner, please try to let them know yourself that the appointment is cancelled, and let us know whether you have been able to do that