Responding to community conflict : a review of community mediation

There has been remarkable growth in community mediation provision in recent years, and mediation has developed into a highly flexible and effective response to community conflict.

About half of the UK population now has access to mediation, and 16,000 disputes a year are referred to local community mediation services.

Legislative developments have lead to an increasing use of mediation, and funding from social landlords and other agencies represents significant investment in supporting local mediation provision.This review describes the varied field of neighbourhood mediation in the UK.

It examines the main models of service provision and how this provision is funded; charts the nature of disputes that are referred to local services and the variety of mediation interventions; and examines quality issues and the impact of the Community Legal Service's Quality Mark on mediation services.

The final chapter identifies future trends and tensions for the sector.