THE father of missing chef Claudia Lawrence has secured a major breakthrough in his campaign to change the law to help relatives of missing people.

The Ministry of Justice has signalled its intention to bring in new laws which will allow the financial and legal affairs of missing people to be resolved more rapidly.

It intends to introduce a certificate of presumed death which will allow family members to access their bank accounts and deal with matters such as direct debits, mortgages and insurance policies.

Under the present system, somebody must be missing for seven years until they are legally presumed dead.

The ministry is also looking at introducing powers of legal guardianship which would involve creating a holding arrangement allowing families to keep bank accounts and other affairs “live” in the event of the return of someone who has gone missing.

The final recommendation by the Justice Select Committee is to provide the families of missing people with an information pack which includes points of contact for police and other relevant bodies.

The Justice Select Committee published recommendations in February which likened the current laws to “crazy paving”.

Miss Lawrence’s father, Peter, 65, a solicitor from York, has been at the forefront of the campaign to introduce the new legislation to help families trying to deal with the affairs of a missing loved one.

In March, he was congratulated by David Cameron for his work on the campaign. His spokesman, Martin Dales, from Malton, North Yorkshire, said: “It’s good news from the Government. Peter has campaigned tirelessly for this, amidst not finding Claudia, and deserves credit for it.

“If people find themselves in the situation where someone does go missing, this will hopefully make it considerably easier to sort out their affairs. “There’s a whole range of laws governing different aspects that needed tidying up.

It is more than three years since the 35-year-old, who was born in Darlington and brought up in Malton, North Yorkshire, disappeared without trace. She was last seen in York in March, 2009, but failed to turn up for work at York University.