YP Comment: Help for families of the missing

The Bill, introduced to Parliament by Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake earlier this year, passed its final stage in the House of Lords and now just awaits Royal Assent before becoming law.

At present there is no legal provision for families to look after their loved one’s financial and legal affairs while they are missing, adding further trauma to an already unbearable situation.

Many families struggle to ensure their missing loved one’s bills are paid, and in some cases shared savings, and even homes, have been lost.

Campaigners believe around 2,500 families in the UK will be helped by this change in the law which will ease their financial suffering considerably.

The Bill has become known as “Claudia’s Law”, in honour of Claudia Lawrence who disappeared on her way to work at the University of York in 2009, and means a guardian can be appointed after an adult has been missing for more than 90 days, allowing families and friends of missing people to manage their affairs.

It is testimony to the tireless efforts of people like Mr Hollinrake and, in particular, Claudia’s father Peter Lawrence who set aside his own anguish to campaign for these much-needed changes.

What makes Mr Lawrence’s efforts even more commendable is these have come too late to benefit his own family. His has been a supreme act of selflessness and is an example to us all.