Last Wednesday, councillors formally backed the campaign and agreed to lobby the Government and relevant national bodies for the necessary legislative changes.
Maya Chappell (Image: FAMILY)
The Maya's Law campaign was 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.
Following the unimaginable tragedy, Maya's family, led by her great aunt Gemma Chappell, a serving police officer, and her sister Rachael Walls, launched a campaign that has captured the nation's attention.
Their mission: to introduce Maya's Law, a legal reform designed to prevent future child deaths by improving information-sharing between agencies and empowering families to access vital safeguarding data.
Maya and her great aunt, Gemma Chappell (Image: FAMILY)
Now, Maya's great aunt, Gemma Chappell, has praised the 'significant' benefits that Durham County Council's backing of the campaign will have on their battle to change UK law.
"Durham County Council are a pilot council for what we want all other councils in the North East to do for the campaign," said Gemma, who is a police officer from Consett.
"How councillors came together was great to see - they put politics aside and really got behind the campaign.
"It's a significant moment in the campaign, and this now can be a domino effect, which will hopefully inspire MPs and other councillors to get involved."
During the Durham County Council meeting last Wednesday, councillors from Reform UK, Labour, independent and the Liberal Democrats all backed Maya's Law campaign.
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?"
Maya Chappell's great aunts, Gemma Chappell and Rachael Walls (Image: FAMILY)
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.
The Reform councillor added: "By adopting the principles set out in Maya's Law, we have taken 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."
The Reform motion was approved by councillors as an amendment to a previous plea from Liberal Democrat, and former council leader, Amanda Hopgood.
The Maya's Law Northern Echo front page (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)
Amid accusations of "political pointscoring", Reform said the amended motion "sets out a clear strategy and plan".
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.
Maya's Law Proposes:
New safeguarding powers for professionals to raise alerts or trigger family court action even without an active investigation.
The Maya's Law petition can be found here , and the fundraising page can be found here.
Support the campaign: Follow Maya's Law on social media or contribute via the fundraising page.
The family's petition has now surpassed 7,800 signatures, on track to reach the 10,000 needed for a formal government response and the 100,000 required to trigger a full House of Commons debate.
Gemma now hopes that the campaign will reach 10,000 signatures by November or the end of 2025.
"We've come so far, but this is only the beginning," said Gemma Chappell after the Westminster debate.
"We owe it to Maya -- and to every child who still needs protecting."