Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly met mediators and divorcing couples in Liverpool last week, to see for himself how new mediation rules were working.

The new rules, which came into effect on 6th April, mean that anyone setting out to contest the terms of their separation in court will first be required to consider mediation.

Mediation involves couples working through issues in the presence of a qualified mediator to make arrangements both sides can live with, rather than putting lawyers and a judge in charge of deciding a couple's future arrangements.

Mr Djanogly watched a mediation assessment meeting in action and discussed the impact of the changes.

"The new rules mean everyone now has the opportunity to see if mediation could be a better solution than going straight to court," he said.