Privacy

Confidentiality and Privacy

Privacy Notice

The Family Mediation Service has been given your name and contact details by either a referral agency, a third party (which might include your ex-partner), or by you if you contacted us directly. While your mediation case is open, we will use this information to make appointments and keep you informed.

All data is stored securely. We will not share your personal information with anyone outside the Mediation Service without your permission. Your personal information will be retained for as long as you are a client, after which it will be stored for up to 2 years. Following this period, both paper and electronic records will be securely destroyed.

You have the right to obtain a copy of the personal information we hold about you. You also have the right to ‘be forgotten,’ meaning you can request that your information be deleted from our records after your case is closed. Additionally, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe there is an issue with how your data is handled.

Confidentiality

Discussions in mediation remain confidential, legally privileged, and without prejudice. This means they cannot be used as evidence against each other in court, although financial facts disclosed during mediation are open and may be used. Confidentiality is a core principle of family mediation, applying both between the parties and between the parties and the mediator.

Even if parties agree to share matters outside the mediation, the mediator can enforce confidentiality. The court will generally uphold this confidentiality unless it is necessary in the interests of justice to disclose evidence. In such cases, the court may order or permit evidence to be given or produced.

Clients are not permitted to record any conversations or parts of a meeting on any device, including mobile phones. Family mediations are conducted on a ‘without prejudice’ basis, creating a legally privileged environment that restricts disclosure of what was said or done during mediation. This privilege belongs to the parties and can only be waived by their agreement or by a court order in exceptional circumstances, subject to confidentiality.

Some matters may be subject to both ‘without prejudice’ privilege and confidentiality, requiring the mediator’s consent or a court order to waive confidentiality. Additionally, if a party shares privileged information with the mediator (e.g., a letter of advice from their solicitor), that information remains privileged to the disclosing party. The mediator cannot share it with the other party or the court unless the disclosing party waives the privilege, or there are exceptional circumstances or a court order.