I am calling for stronger safety requirements around publicly accessible bodies of water, including ponds, lakes and other open water, to help protect autistic children and other vulnerable children who are at risk of elopement.

As a SEND parent myself to a severely autistic child who elopes, this is an issue incredibly close to my heart.

Elopement, sometimes referred to as wandering, can happen suddenly and without warning. Some autistic children have little or no awareness of danger and may not understand the potentially fatal consequences of entering open water. Many autistic and SEND children are also strongly drawn to water, making easily accessible ponds, lakes and other bodies of water a particular concern for families.

There have been devastating cases in the UK and around the world where autistic children have eloped from the care of an adult, home, school or other setting and have tragically been found in bodies of water.

These tragedies highlight why prevention is so important.

We are asking the Government to introduce stronger requirements for publicly accessible bodies of water to be appropriately risk assessed, with secure fencing or other effective physical barriers required where there is a foreseeable risk of children or vulnerable people gaining unsafe access.

Any fencing or barriers should be designed so that they genuinely reduce the risk of a child accessing the water, rather than simply acting as a visual boundary.

This is not about removing personal responsibility or suggesting that fencing can prevent every tragedy. It is about adding another layer of protection.

For a child who elopes, even a few seconds can make an enormous difference. Parents and carers of children with significant additional needs can take extensive precautions, but no human being can eliminate every possible risk every second of every day.

Public safety measures should recognise the needs of some of the most vulnerable members of our communities.

A secure barrier could provide precious additional time for a parent, carer or member of the public to reach a child before they enter the water.

We should not have to wait for another child to lose their life before asking whether more could have been done.

I am asking the Government to review current open-water safety requirements and introduce appropriate mandatory safety measures, including secure fencing or barriers where risk assessments identify a significant danger to children and vulnerable people, with specific consideration given to autistic and SEND children at risk of elopement.

Our children deserve environments that recognise their needs and do everything reasonably possible to keep them safe.