Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State of 5 July 2021, Official report, column 606, when the Government plans to begin the time-limited review into sex offenders changing their names; and what the terms of reference of that review will be.
Answer
Protecting the public from sex offenders and dangerous criminals is a top priority for the Government. We are committed to ensuring that the system and the monitoring that underpins the management of these offenders is as robust as it can be, and that the relevant safeguards are in place.
The Government has already begun the internal review into this issue. The review will consider the scale and nature of offenders changing their name to facilitate further offending; fully understand all formal and informal methods by which someone can change their name and the opportunities to strengthen those to prevent abuse by nefarious criminals.
We will do this whilst balancing any policy change with the need to continue to ensure protection to victims of crime who may need to change their name for safeguarding reasons and the majority of people who change their names every year, for honest reasons.