Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of informing residents when convicted paedophiles move into local communities.

At present, registered sex offenders are managed under the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA). Section 327A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 places a duty on MAPPA Responsible Authorities – comprising the police, probation and prison services - in each local criminal justice area to consider disclosing information to members of the public about the previous convictions of any child sex offender managed by the Responsible Authority.

Further, the police can and do disclose information regarding child sex offenders (whether MAPPA managed or not) to relevant persons when they believe a child is at risk, utilising their common law disclosure powers as formalised by the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, also known as ‘Sarah’s Law’.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we will strengthen the Child Sexual Offender Disclosure scheme by placing it on a statutory footing. This means that chief officers will have a statutory duty to have due regard to the published police guidance.