Before Paula Hudgell began her fight for a Child Cruelty Register, few people realised that those convicted of the most serious child cruelty offences can effectively vanish once their sentences end, without monitoring and management by police and probation, leaving families and communities with no way of knowing the risk they may still pose.
My constituent Paula, adoptive mother of Tony Hudgell, has been unwavering in her mission to close this lacuna in child safeguarding.
Tony was just 41 days old when he was so violently abused by his birth parents that both of his legs later had to be amputated.
They were sentenced to 10 years in prison but served eight before being released last year.
While they remain under supervision for the remainder of their sentences, there is currently no statutory requirement for oversight beyond that point.
Experience shows that ex-offenders can move across county lines, change their names and disengage from services to avoid scrutiny. That makes detection harder and risk management even more challenging.
Mirroring the structure of the Sex Offenders Register for child cruelty offenders would go a long way towards fixing this, with mandatory notification requirements for offenders and monitoring and management by the police.
It has been an honour and a privilege to work alongside Paula over the past year and a half. We have backing from the Conservative Party, from MPs and Peers across the House of Commons and Lords, and Ministers in both the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice appear supportive.
Before Christmas, Conservatives tabled an amendment to the Sentencing Bill to establish a Child Cruelty Register. Labour MPs voted it down. Following further meetings with Ministers in early January, I now hope the Government will introduce its own amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill when it reaches Report Stage in the House of Lords in the coming weeks.
A positive outcome would not only transform child safeguarding in this country, it would also give Paula a huge lift as she continues her recovery from recent, gruelling surgery and chemotherapy for stage 4 bowel cancer.
