Right to bring a lawyer to statutory mediation

Where a parent or young person invokes the right to mediation in section 52 of the 2014 Act then under regulation 36 of the 2014 Regulations the local authority must arrange this within 30 days. Regulation 38 sets out who may attend the mediation and includes "any advocate or other supporter that the child’s parent or the young person wishes to attend the mediation".

In Kumar v LB Hillingdon [2020] EWHC 3326 (Admin), the parent wanted her lawyer to attend the mediation with her; the local authority refused, saying that regulation 38 did not permit this. The parent's claim for judicial review succeeded, the High Court (Collins Rice J) holding that "advocate" includes a qualified lawyer.

In fact, the judge went further, making clear that a local authority has no power to control whom a parent wishes to bring with them to an EHCP mediation for support, and has no power to refuse to arrange for or participate in mediation if it does not approve of that person (whether on the grounds that they are a lawyer or for any other reason).

So the position is very clear.