§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what advice he has given to local authority housing departments regarding the issuing of reports to elected members on housing committees when a council property is let to a registered sex offender. [140519]
§ Mr. MullinWe have not issued any specific advice about such reports. However, my Department has issued advice drawing local housing authorities' attention to their 611W responsibilities under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and how these bear upon the arrangements in place to manage the risks posed by sex offenders in the community. The advice suggests ways in which local authorities are able to play an important role in ensuring that those arrangements work effectively through their housing allocation policies and in the treatment of offenders under the homelessness legislation. It also deals with the issue of confidentiality, and makes clear that details about individual cases should only be disclosed to the public at large in exceptional circumstances and then only by or with the express consent of the police. A copy of the advice issued to local authorities on 25 November 1999 and entitled "Housing Act 1996: Parts VI and VII, Crime and Disorder Act 1998: Part I—The role of local housing authorities in the management of risks presented by sex offenders" has been placed in the Library of the House.