ADR Group Heads Up Ministry of Justice Tables

17 July 2007

The National Mediation Helpline was set up in 2005 by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in conjunction with the Civil Mediation Council (CMC) to provide information about mediation and access to mediators. ADR Group, a leading UK mediation provider covering all 42 court regions in England and Wales, has played an instrumental role in the success of the Helpline to date.

Recent statistics released by the MoJ confirm that ADR Group and its nationwide panel of professional mediators have, over the last year:

• Received more referrals than the other 26 providers on the NMH panel  -  reflecting the true national coverage of our mediation panel.
  
  
• Settled more cases than the other 26 providers at an average settlement rate of 75%  -  a tribute to the high quality of mediators on the ADR Group panel underpinned by high standards set in our mediator skills training programme (NMH average 66%).
  
  
• Handled disputes valued at a total figure of just over £4,000,000 through the NMH scheme  -  37% of cases were under £5,000; 22% were valued £5,001 to £15K; 25% at £15,001 to £50K and 14% were cases in excess of £50,001.
  
  
• Operated at a conversion rate above the national average of 39%  -  reflecting the value of an efficient, effective and dedicated case administration team that is geared towards guiding parties to the actual mediation table.

Speaking on these statistics, Michael Lind Managing Director of ADR Group said “The NMH has been instrumental in raising the profile and general awareness of civil and commercial mediation amongst the general public and judiciary. The support given by the MoJ has been profound and probably more effective than any of the existing ADR providers in the UK could have achieved on their own. We [ADR Group] are delighted our mediators and our administration services have contributed to the success of the scheme.”

The MoJ has also recently appointed 10 in-house small claims mediators in courts around the country. This initiative will further boost the government’s plans to promote mediation as an alternative mechanism to the conventional court litigation route. Over the next year the MoJ plans to increase the number of in-house court mediators.

To download ths press release click here