UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for ADR

CIArb serves as secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for ADR, to raise awareness of the profession at Westminster.

The APPG was formed to bring together MPs and peers with a common interest in ADR issues and a shared desire to get them on the political agenda. As secretariat we provide expert advice and direction to the work of the group and facilitate its engagement with the wider world.

We organise regular evidence sessions, panel discussions, and receptions for the group within parliament and use our profile to amplify its findings.

Disclaimer: This is not an official website [or feed] of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in these webpages are those of the group.

John Howell OBE MP (Chair)

John is the Conservative MP for Henley and has chaired the APPG for ADR since its establishment in November 2015. He is an Associate Member of CIArb and has a particular interest in mediation. John is an active advocate for ADR in Parliament.

Next Meeting

The Alternative Dispute Resolution All Party Parliamentary Group (ADR APPG) will be holding their first session of 2023 on the role of ombudsmen in the dispute resolution landscape in the UK, on 6 June 2023 at 16:00-18:00 GMT.

The next meeting will take place in Committee Room 18 on the Parliamentary Estate.

In order to reach Committee Room 18, meeting attendees will need to enter the estate through the Cromwell Green visitor entrance by Westminster Hall. They will then need to go through Westminster Hall to Central Lobby, where the visitor reception desk will be able to direct them to the Committee corridor. There is also a reception desk on the Committee Corridor, which can direct them to the correct room.

Please RSVP to this event here.

Those in attendance will consider:

• How do, as well as how should, different organisational mechanisms and internal complaints procedures within ombudsmen services work.
• How such ombudsmen services fit together with alternative dispute resolution mechanisms – pre and post issue.

The session will allow parliamentarians, stakeholder organisations and interested parties to contribute to the discourse on ombudsmen. This discussion will be led by the Chair of the APPG John Howell MP.

We invite you in advance of the session to send your suggestions of topics or concerns that you think would be worthy of discussion at this session. Please RSVP to this event here, or email any questions you may have to adrappg@ciarb.org.

Minutes to ADR APPG

• Please do send any corrections or comments on the minutes you have to the policy team at Ciarb and they will swiftly make any amendments necessary.
• On the 7th September 2022, the ADR APPG met at 1 Parliament Street for a session to discuss the MoJ consultation on mandatory mediation. Please find the minutes available here for your perusal.
• On 17 May 2022, the APPG met to discuss mandatory mediation – the minutes are available here. At this session, there was a panel with four experts who briefly gave a presentation each to kickstart the discussion.,
• On 15th November 2022, the ADR APPG met to discuss the Law Commission’s Consultation on the Arbitration Act 1996. Please find the minutes from the session here.

If you have any questions or remarks about the ADR APPG or if you simply wish to be put on the mailing list, then please email adrappg@ciarb.org.