HC Deb 22 October 2002 vol 391 cc252-3W
David Cairns

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what role her Department plays in alternative means of dispute resolution [73615]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules in 1999 imposed, for the first time, a duty on courts to encourage and facilitate the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The Rules also seek to influence the behaviour of parties in the pre-litigation period through pre-action protocols, which further encourage parties to settle their disputes by using ADR.

In March 2001 the Lord Chancellor announced that all Government Departments and their Agencies had pledged to consider and use ADR to resolve disputes involving them in all suitable cases, wherever the other party accepts it.

In addition, a number of courts in England and Wales have set up court based pilot mediation schemes, with the approval of the Lord Chancellor.