Councillors have backed calls for a new law to protect children after the tragic death of a County Durham toddler.
The Maya’s Law campaign has been launched by the family of two-year-old Maya Chappell, who died in September 2022 after being violently shaken by her mother’s partner, Michael Daymond, in Shotton Colliery.
Maya’s great aunt Gemma Chappell and her sister Rachael Walls have led the campaign calling for reform to how authorities share information about potential risks to children.
Now, Durham County Council has formally backed the campaign and agreed to lobby the Government and relevant national bodies for the necessary legislative changes.
Councillor Cathy Hunt, cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said the campaign has inspired the council to ask: “Are we truly doing everything we can to protect our children?”
Speaking at a full council meeting on 22 October, she added: “When speaking with Maya’s family, one thing became clear. This isn’t about finger-pointing, assigning blame; it’s about learning from tragedy, heartbreak, and asking what we can do better.”
The proposal centres around creating a Child Risk Disclosure Scheme (CRDS), a mechanism that would allow parents and guardians to request information about individuals who have a violent or concerning history and who have contact with their children.
The campaign also calls for mandatory information sharing between police, social care and health agencies when safeguarding concerns arise, stronger multi-agency protocols in custody and unsupervised access cases, and new safeguarding powers enabling professionals to raise alerts or trigger court action even without an active investigation.
Cllr Hunt said the law will enable the council to improve training and education for people working in safeguarding.
The Reform councillor added: “By adopting the principles set out in Maya’s Law, we set an important step towards a better future. This is about putting strong and effective procedures in place to make sure that no child like little Maya is ever let down again. It’s about giving our children a voice, ensuring they are heard, protected and valued.
“We can blaze the trail and stand proudly in County Durham and say: we will protect our children using every tool available to us. Let’s make it mandatory here in our county and communities because every child deserves to grow up safe, loved and protected.”
The Reform motion was approved by councillors as an amendment to a previous plea from Liberal Democrat, and former council leader, Amanda Hopgood. Amid accusations of “political pointscoring”, Reform said the amended motion “sets out a clear strategy and plan”.
In 2023, Daymond was jailed for life, while Maya’s mother, Dana Carr, was sentenced to nine years for allowing the abuse.
Cllr Hunt said: “I would like to commend May’s family for their incredible strength and courage. Turning pain into purpose is never easy, yet they continue to fight so that no other family can endure what they have.
