Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether changes have taken place within the last twelve months that place additional restrictions on registered sex offender's ability to change their names.

The Government has introduced a series of measures to strengthen the management of registered sex offenders (RSOs) and prevent them from evading monitoring by changing their identities in the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently at Committee stage in the House of Lords.

The new legislation will enable police to serve a notice on RSOs requiring them to seek the police’s authorisation before applying to change their name on a specified identity document (namely, a UK passport, driving licence or immigration document). It also requires RSOs to notify the police of an intended change of name at least seven days in advance of using it, or, if that is not reasonably practicable, as far in advance of their using it as it reasonably practicable.

These measures close previous loopholes to enable the police to monitor registered sex offenders more closely and better protect the public.