THOUSANDS of families in the North-East and North Yorkshire remain in limbo as the implementation of a new law to help them manage the affairs of missing loved ones is delayed.

The long-awaited Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017 was designed to allow relatives and close friends manage the affairs of missing people without having to obtain a declaration of presumed death. But secondary legislation is required before the act can come into force – something that was expected to take effect in April 2018.

Last week the father of missing York chef Claudia Lawrence spoke out about the delays in a press conference on the ninth anniversary of her disappearance.

Peter Lawrence's daughter was reported missing in March 2009 when she failed to turn up for work at the University of York.

A review into her disappearance in 2013 resulted in the arrest of four men on suspicion of her murder, but the case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service due to insufficient evidence.

Mr Lawrence said the legislation had already been approved through Parliament last May but civil servants who had been doing the secondary legislation have been diverted to other things. He said the delay was “just not good enough” as there were many families suffering.

According to figures obtained by law firm Ridley & Hall through Freedom of Information requests from 39 forces, police in England and Wales recorded more than 99,000 missing people incidents in 2017.

North Yorkshire Police recorded 657 people missing, Durham Constabulary 480, Northumbria Police 3,390 and Cleveland Police 1,146.

The Ministry of Justice has indicated that the necessary rules of court will not be published until October 2018 at the earliest – and possibly not until April 2019.

Sarah Young is a partner at Ridley & Hall where she advises relatives of missing people.

She said the delay had left families in limbo: “It is frustrating for those of us who celebrated the introduction of the Guardianship Act to now learn that it could be another six months or a year before we can begin using it to help people. We need the Guardianship Act enabled now, not another year later.”

Sarah has now written to the Lord Chancellor, David Gauke MP to ask him to prioritise implementing the Act.

She added: “The stress and anxiety of not knowing what has happened to their loved one is compounded by being unable to take any practical steps at all to manage their finances.

"This problem is particularly acute when a missing person owns property jointly; the left behind joint owner of a property cannot sell or re-mortgage, and is often left struggling to cope financially as a result.”