In-court mediation for Glasgow and Aberdeen

Further pilot projects follow growth of Edinburgh scheme

News, 22 August 2005

Two new pilot in-court mediation projects at Aberdeen and Glasgow Sheriff Courts to help with small civil disputes will be up and running in the next few months, the Scottish Executive announced today.

The Glasgow pilot is planned to start later this year, while the Aberdeen project is likely to begin early next year. Each will cost around £30,000 a year.

The schemes, which aim to help people resolve problems without going through court proceedings, follow on from the first pilot project at Edinburgh Sheriff Court which has been in operation since 2003. So far it has helped over 100 people resolve their disputes without pursuing their cases in court. Two new dedicated mediation rooms were opened in July.

At the same time the Executive announced a funding package of £180,000 for the Scottish Mediation Network for the period up to March 2007. The money will be used to raise public awareness of mediation services and to develop a quality assurance framework across all spheres of mediation. Funding for further years will depend on evaluation of the success of the projects.

Deputy Justice Minister Hugh Henry said: "Going to court can be a stressful, time-consuming and expensive process and I am delighted to be able to support the constructive process of mediation.

"Obviously for some problems, mediation is not the answer and going to court might be the better option, but the Executive greatly supports efforts to promote other ways of dealing with many different types of complaint."

Mediation services are used by individuals, small companies and larger firms and organisations. Disputes are mostly over debts or alleged debts, and the two most common areas of dispute are unsatisfactory goods or services and landlord/tenant matters.