Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 20 November (HL2506), in respect of persons with a conviction for sex offences, violent conduct, and manslaughter or murder who have been permitted entry to the United Kingdom, (1) what public protection arrangements are instigated and whether they are a mandatory condition of entry, and (2) in respect of sex offences, what additional protection is in place for monitoring, sex-offender registering and prohibition from working with children and vulnerable adults, in line with arrangements for United Kingdom citizens convicted of the same offences.

Foreign nationals who are convicted of such offences in the United Kingdom will be subject to the same monitoring and public protection arrangements as British nationals. Those sent to prison will also be considered for deportation. Furthermore, where a foreign national is in the United Kingdom and has been identified as having been convicted of a serious sexual or violent offence abroad, for example after a police check on foreign convictions following an arrest, the case will be referred to the Home Office to consider if deportation is appropriate.

Where previous foreign convictions for sexual offences are known, the police can apply to a magistrates’ court for a notification order which makes the individual subject to the same notification requirements as if they had been convicted in the UK (i.e. they are put on the “sex offenders’ register”). Similarly, where there exists a foreign conviction for specified violent offences, including murder and manslaughter, and where the individual poses a risk of serious violent harm to the public the police may apply for a violent offender order under the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, as amended by section 119 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime & Policing Act 2014.Serious sexual and violent offences committed overseas which are known to our authorities may be included on Disclosure and Barring Service disclosures. They may also be taken into account in deciding whether to bar an individual from working with children or vulnerable adults.