MPs urged to push for Maya’s Law debate after petition hits milestone

A petition by Maya’s family, backed by The Northern Echo, hit the major milestone last week, meaning Parliament will now consider if for a debate.

Maya died in Newcastle’s RVI in September 2022, days after being violently shaken by her mother’s new partner, Michael Daymond, at their home in Shotton Colliery.

Maya Chappell (Image: FAMILY)

Daymond was later jailed for life, while Maya’s mother, Dana Carr, received a nine-year sentence for allowing the toddler’s death.

In September last year, the toddler’s family launched the Maya’s Law campaign, which calls for the introduction of a Child Risk Disclosure Scheme (CRDS), a system that would allow families to request information about a partner or caregiver’s violent or abusive history, similar to Clare’s Law and Sarah’s Law.

Under the proposed scheme, police, councils, health services and social care agencies would have a legal duty to share safeguarding information when concerns arise, ensuring families are aware of potential risks.

Rachael Walls and Gemma Chappell, the great aunts of Maya (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

The petition, which ends today (Thursday, February 5), has now been signed by almost 110,000 people, with Maya’s great aunt, Gemma Chappell, now calling on MPs to push for a debate in Parliament as the next step in the campaign.

While the 100,000 petition threshold gives the family a chance to be considered for a debate in Parliament, not every petition is selected to be discussed.

“100,000 people have now given Maya a voice and given us a massive step up for the next stages of our campaign,” Gemma said.

Maya (Image: FAMILY)

“But now is the time for MPs to step up. Lots of them from the region backed us at the start, but we need them more than ever before to call for this debate.

“We also need those politicians – councillors and mayors – who backed this campaign previously to get involved and make as much noise as possible.”

Gemma has once again called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to agree to a meeting to discuss the potential law change.

She added: “Now is the right time for the PM to get involved. We just want to sit down and make our case for this vital change.”

While the government’s target is seemingly to move forward with the multi-million-pound Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, Gemma says that she wants to work with the government to make some amendments and “protect children from falling through the cracks”.

Maya’s Law proposes four key changes:

• A Child Risk Disclosure Scheme (CRDS) allows families to request risk history information about caregivers or partners
• Mandatory information sharing between police, health, and social care agencies
• Stronger multi-agency protocols, particularly in cases involving custody or unsupervised access
• New safeguarding powers for professionals to raise alerts or trigger court action, even without an active investigation