Since I became a Member of Parliament in 2017, I’ve heard from constituents about a wide range of issues, and I’ve done my best to raise them in parliament. Many of these issues are important, but every now and then something crops up that really makes me pause for thought.
Early into the summer recess, I met with a constituent, Gemma, in my office. What evolved from that meeting was an ongoing conversation that would go on to inform a debate on child safeguarding and what steps are needed to address gaps in the law.
Gemma’s great niece Maya was born in March 2020, just before the Covid pandemic. Every story she told me of Maya was a happy one. She was a loving child with a big smile. She had family, friends, and an entire community who loved her and looked out for her. And despite her tender age, she touched the hearts of everyone she met with her infectious laugh and friendly nature.
Tragically, Maya was murdered by her mother’s partner, Michael Daymond, in 2022. She was just two years old.
The judge later concluded that, in the weeks preceding her death, Daymond had been hurting Maya regularly. She sustained bruises that were noticed by other people. Relatives flagged these injuries to Maya’s mother, but they felt powerless to force an intervention that could have saved Maya’s life. That is why the family are now campaigning for a Child Risk Disclosure Scheme: to encourage information-sharing, empower families, and protect children from abuse.
Whilst Maya’s family were not known to statutory services, the Child Safeguarding Practice Review highlighted instances where professionals could have stepped in – for instance, when Maya’s father, James, approached Durham’s First Contact Service with concerns about Daymond.
James was told to contact the police, where the matter was progressed under Clare’s Law and Sarah’s Law. But when an officer followed this up, Maya’s mother told them that she was no longer with Daymond, and the matter was closed. Clearly, there was a lack of professional curiosity from services. But this incident also highlighted that neither of these laws are designed to protect children from known risks of non-sexual abuse.
Both Sarah’s Law and Clare’s Law operate on a “right to ask” and “right to know” basis. Relevant third parties can request information from the police about an individual, and police can make disclosures of their own accord if they become aware that a person may be at risk.
But Clare’s Law, which focusses on intimate partner violence, only covers children where they are linked to an adult at risk of domestic abuse. Meanwhile, although children are the focus of Sarah’s Law, its primary concern is sexual offending. Disclosure of wider concerns is discretionary, and there is only a presumption to disclose information about an individual where they have convictions for child sex offences.
As a serving police officer, Gemma knows these laws well. She believes a much broader approach is needed: a Child Risk Disclosure Scheme, called Maya’s Law – based on the existing frameworks of Sarah’s Law and Clare’s Law, and bridging the gaps between them.
Such a law would recognise that children are harmed in households where non-sexual abuse is taking place; where family members had concerns, but no legal standing to insist on intervention.
It is a tragedy that despite so many cases in which missed opportunities have been identified, we are continuing to see children being harmed. Maya’s family are now in contact with the families of Star Hobson and Tony Hudgell, whose lives have also been irrevocably changed by domestic violence.
My hope is that this Government, placing the protection of children at its centre, will seek to work with the Chappell family and myself to prevent future tragedies. We have seen promising steps forward with safeguarding clauses in the Children, Wellbeing and School Bill, and we’re determined to build on this momentum.
Maya’s family are clear: we need action. As Gemma told me: we’ve had so many reports citing “lessons learned” – ‘let’s make that phrase mean what it should: not the end of a case, but the beginning of change.’
We urgently need Maya’s Law – a comprehensive child risk disclosure scheme – to prevent future tragedies
