Courts' Pressure to Mediate in England Similar to in the US?

An article in an Asian journal about mediation in England suggests issues familiar here in the United States. The abstract of Carrot and Stick Approach in English Mediation – There Must Be Another Way  by Hong-LinYu of the University of Stirling says under English law "Disputants are actively encouraged to take up mediation. Failing to do so, costs sanctions will be used as a 'stick' to penalize for having unreasonably refused to mediate in the eyes of the courts. This development has seen the voluntary nature of mediation, the need to educate the parties and the need for a legislative framework being sidelined."