MIAM Statistics 2006 to 2026: How LASPO Changed Family Mediation

If you are considering family mediation, you may have come across the term MIAM (Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting).

A MIAM is an initial meeting with a qualified family mediator. Its purpose is to explain how mediation works, consider whether mediation is suitable, and discuss whether there are other appropriate ways of resolving a family dispute.

But how many MIAMs actually take place each year?

Official Ministry of Justice data provides a fascinating picture. The figures show a substantial change in the number of publicly funded mediation assessments following the introduction of major legal aid reforms in 2013.

MIAM statistics by year

The Ministry of Justice publishes annual figures for mediation assessments, which it describes as sometimes being known as MIAMs. These figures cover the legal aid mediation system in England and Wales.

Source: Ministry of Justice, Justice Data, Legal Aid Mediation. The 2025/26 assessment figure was published on 25 June 2026.

The dramatic fall in 2013

The most striking feature of the data is the sudden fall between 2012/13 and 2013/14.

In 2012/13, there were 30,665 mediation assessments.

In 2013/14, that fell to 13,390.

That is a reduction of approximately 56% in a single year.

This was not simply a gradual decline in interest in mediation. The timing coincided with one of the biggest changes to the family justice system in recent decades: the implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO).

What was LASPO?

LASPO came into effect in April 2013 and substantially changed the availability of civil legal aid.

Most private family law disputes were removed from the scope of legal aid, although important exceptions remained, including certain cases involving domestic abuse and child abuse.

The government had expected mediation to benefit from the reforms.

The reasoning was relatively straightforward: if legal representation was no longer publicly funded for many private family disputes, more people might choose mediation instead of going to court.

The Ministry of Justice estimated that the reforms could result in approximately 9,000 additional MIAMs each year.

Instead, the opposite happened.

The number of MIAMs fell by an estimated 17,246, a reduction of 56%.

Why did MIAMs fall when mediation was still funded?

One important factor was the role played by solicitors.

Before LASPO, many people entered the family justice system through solicitors who could advise them about their options and refer them towards mediation.

When legal aid was removed from most private family law cases, fewer people were entering that publicly funded legal pathway.

The Public Accounts Committee noted that the Ministry of Justice had expected mediation assessments to increase by 9,000, or around 30%, but instead there were 17,246 fewer referrals. It also found that mediation cases themselves fell by more than 5,000, or 38%, in the year following the reforms.

The Ministry subsequently acknowledged that it had not done enough to promote mediation following the reforms.

A new MIAM requirement

The story did not end there.

In April 2014, the rules changed again.

The government introduced a requirement for applicants in certain private family law proceedings to attend a MIAM before making a court application, subject to specified exemptions.

This was intended to encourage people to consider mediation and other forms of dispute resolution before starting court proceedings.

The change appears in the statistics: MIAM assessments increased from 13,390 in 2013/14 to 15,076 in 2014/15.

However, the number did not return to the levels seen before LASPO.

MIAM numbers since 2014

Following the introduction of the statutory MIAM requirement, the number of publicly funded mediation assessments generally remained between approximately 10,000 and 15,000 per year.

The lowest point in the current series was:

2018/19: 10,506 assessments

The figure subsequently rose again, reaching:

2024/25: 12,837 assessments

and:

2025/26: 13,826 assessments.

This means that the latest figure is considerably higher than the post-LASPO low point, although it remains well below the 30,665 assessments recorded in 2012/13.

Does this mean only 13,826 MIAMs happen in England and Wales?

No. This is an important distinction.

The Ministry of Justice series above relates to legal aid mediation data. It should not be interpreted as a count of every MIAM conducted by every mediator in England and Wales.

The Justice Data service specifically describes these figures as mediation assessments within the legal aid mediation system.

There are also other sources of data concerning private family court applications and the MIAM requirement.

For example, Ministry of Justice research has examined private law family applications subject to the MIAM requirement. This provides a different perspective, because it looks at the court application population rather than simply counting legal aid mediation assessments.

Consequently, “number of publicly funded MIAM assessments” and “number of MIAMs conducted nationally” should not be treated as identical measures. Most MIAMs today, including every MIAM we conduct at BookMIAM, are privately funded and fall outside the legal aid dataset entirely.

What happened to mediation itself?

The same Ministry of Justice dataset also provides figures for mediation starts.

In 2012/13 there were 13,609 mediation starts.

This fell to 8,438 in 2013/14 following LASPO.

The figure was 8,092 in 2014/15, before fluctuating in subsequent years. By 2024/25, there were 9,841 mediation starts recorded in the legal aid system.

This gives important context to the MIAM figures: the fall after LASPO was not limited to assessments. There was also a substantial reduction in mediation starts.

What do the statistics tell us?

There are three important conclusions.

1. LASPO produced a major disruption

The 2013/14 fall is one of the clearest features of the entire MIAM dataset.

MIAM assessments fell from 30,665 to 13,390 in one year, a fall of approximately 56%.

The parliamentary Justice Committee noted that this was the opposite of what the Ministry of Justice had expected.

2. Making MIAMs a prerequisite for certain court applications changed the system

The introduction of the statutory MIAM requirement in 2014 was an attempt to ensure that people considered mediation before commencing certain family proceedings.

The number of recorded assessments increased in 2014/15, although it did not return to the pre-LASPO level.

3. Today’s figures need to be interpreted carefully

The latest Ministry of Justice figure is 13,826 assessments in 2025/26.

That is an increase from the recent low of 10,506 in 2018/19, but it is still less than half the 30,665 assessments recorded in 2012/13.

However, these figures relate specifically to the legal aid mediation dataset. They should not be presented as the total number of MIAMs taking place across England and Wales.

The 20 year picture

The overall trend is therefore much more complicated than simply saying that “MIAMs are increasing” or “MIAMs are decreasing.”

The data shows:

• 2006 to 2012: relatively high numbers of publicly funded mediation assessments, reaching more than 30,000 per year.
• 2013: LASPO comes into effect and MIAM assessments fall dramatically.
• 2014: statutory MIAM requirement introduced for certain private family law applications.
• 2015 to 2019: assessment numbers remain substantially below their pre-LASPO levels.
• 2020 to 2025: numbers fluctuate but begin to recover.
• 2025/26: 13,826 legal aid mediation assessments are recorded.

What does this mean if you are considering a MIAM?

A MIAM is not simply a box ticking exercise.

The purpose of the meeting is to explore whether mediation or another form of dispute resolution could be appropriate before a family dispute proceeds further through the courts.

For people considering an application involving children or finances, understanding whether a MIAM is required, and whether an exemption applies, is therefore an important first step.

If you are unsure whether you need a MIAM, you can speak to a qualified family mediator who can explain the process and your options.

Sources

This article uses official Ministry of Justice and UK Parliament sources, including the Ministry of Justice Justice Data legal aid mediation statistics and parliamentary analysis of the impact of LASPO.

Important: MIAM statistics can be reported differently depending on the dataset being used. The figures in the table above are the Ministry of Justice’s legal aid mediation assessment figures and should not be described as the total number of MIAMs conducted nationally.