Sex Offenders (Hansard, 12 December 2002)

§ Hilary Benn

The Government's intention to bring forward a Sexual Offences Bill during this session was announced in the Queen's Speech on 19 November; we published a command paper, 'Protecting the Public', setting out our proposals. In relation to the notification requirements on sex offenders, these includeregistered offenders will be required to confirm annually and in person at their local police station that the information held about them is still up to date; a new order to make those convicted of sex offences overseas register their details when they come to the UK; a reduction in the period of time an offender can spend at an address other than his main home before he is required to notify the police of the address. This will be reduced from 14 days to seven days; a reduction in the period within which a sex offender must notify the police of change of name or address from 14 days to three days; and a new requirement on offenders to provide their national insurance details when registering. This will make it easier to identify and find those offenders who try to evade the registration requirements.

'Schedule One offender' is a categorisation generally used in respect of offenders who have committed an offence against a child listed in Schedule One to the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. That list includes sexual offences, offences of violence, of cruelty and neglect and any other offence resulting in the bodily injury of a child under the age of 18. The list of offences under Schedule One is used, sometimes in conjunction with other indicators of risk, to determine whether an individual might be unsuitable to work with, care for or have unsupervised contact with children. It is important to note that not all Schedule One offenders are sex offenders. There are no notification requirements on Schedule One offenders.