The debate highlights the urgent need to address the loophole that allows registered sex offenders to change their names without notifying the police, which often results in them going missing and securing a clean DBS check under a new name. The Safeguarding Alliance data reveals 913 registered sex offenders went missing between 2017 and 2020, while at least 16,000 offenders were charged for breaching their notification requirements between 2015 and 2020. These figures underscore the critical need to reform the system to protect society.

The hon. Member for Rotherham raises a matter of acute public interest, with more than 11,500 registered sex offenders prosecuted for failing to notify the police about changes in their personal information between 2019 and June 2022. This demonstrates the scale of the issue and highlights the urgent need for legislative action to protect vulnerable individuals.

The hon. Member for Rotherham's debate is crucial in highlighting the need to electronically flag all registered sex offenders' files at HM Passport Office and DVLA, as well as requiring applicants for DBS checks to produce a birth certificate to verify their identity better.

The hon. Member for Rotherham brings attention to the critical loophole that allows registered sex offenders to change their names while on the register, facilitating potential criminal activity and undermining public safety systems. There is a need to restrict such changes, except in exceptional circumstances, and prevent name changes by prisoners.

Joanna, a victim of serious sexual abuse by Clive Bundy, fears that the identity change to Claire Fox will erase her abuser's crimes. Lucy Allan argues for linking the names 'Clive Bundy' and 'Claire Fox' on official records as they are the same person. She criticises the law requiring everyone to pretend Clive Bundy no longer exists and calls it a grotesque injustice to victims of sexual offenders. She urges the Minister to change the law.

The debate centres on the law and practice in England and Wales, but similar issues exist in Scotland. Joanna Cherry emphasises her background as a sex crimes prosecutor to highlight the importance of safeguarding against sexual abuse. She discusses the case of Ian Huntley to illustrate how loopholes in identity verification can compromise public safety. The issue of self-identification for gender changes complicates the reliability of DBS checks, particularly concerning sex offenders who may exploit these processes to evade proper scrutiny.

Intervenes to support Joanna Cherry's point about the inadequacy of self-notification requirements for sex offenders and calls for a more robust, centralised system for name changes that protects public safety.

Agrees with Joanna Cherry's arguments and suggests that the full history of an individual’s identity should be automatically linked to DBS checks to prevent sex offenders from exploiting loopholes in the system.

He thanked the Backbench Business Committee for granting the debate and praised Sarah Champion for securing it. He noted the bafflement over the necessity of the debate due to a recognised issue but emphasised that there is no disagreement on solving the problem. Mark highlighted the inefficiencies in the current system, citing examples like Ian Huntley’s case which led to the creation of the DBS system. Despite agreeing with Joanna Cherry's approach, he noted a minor disagreement over how to solve it and stressed the importance of addressing the loophole that undermines public safety. He pointed out complications such as established common law rights for name changes and the ease with which offenders change names through unenrolled processes. Mark criticised the Home Office’s response as inadequate given the scale of breaches, emphasising the need for a robust system and calling on the Minister to release reports about the problem's extent. He also proposed focusing on birth certificates and national insurance numbers for identifying individuals.

Intervened to praise Mark Fletcher for his cross-party efforts in fighting the issue, highlighting the limitations of the current system like HOLMES 2, which does not flag when a person changes their name. She emphasised that it is madness and misleads the public about having effective safeguards.

Suggested extending existing criteria for disallowing name changes to cover instances where individuals are attempting to escape recognition as sex offenders, thereby preventing fraud or misuse of the system. He argued that this is a straightforward and necessary measure.

I congratulate and pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham, who has done and said so much on this issue regarding sex offenders. Sex offenders are a scourge on our society, committing heinous crimes with devastating impacts on victims and their loved ones. Della Wright’s story highlights the failure of current legislation in preventing reoffending by allowing sex offenders to change names without proper notification, rendering protective mechanisms like the child sex offender disclosure scheme ineffective. The Safeguarding Alliance has exposed the scale of this problem, and we must act now to protect vulnerable individuals from further harm.

I congratulate my hon. Friend for Rotherham and my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover for their contributions on protecting children from sex offenders. The UK has led in proactive legislation, such as the 2003 anti-grooming law. The former DCI Bob McLachlan estimated there were enough active paedophiles to have one for every street, with 20% being female. These individuals are highly manipulative and exploit job opportunities for their primary goal of abusing children. To address this, we need legislation that closes the loophole allowing sex offenders to change names without proper notification. If the ten-minute rule Bill is not acceptable, a small team should be set up to quickly develop effective legislation to protect our most vulnerable.

Congratulates the hon. Member for Rotherham on securing this important debate; criticises the current name-change process as poorly regulated and not fit for purpose, noting that it creates a legal loophole allowing sex offenders to evade justice by changing their names without notifying the police; highlights the need to fix the loophole to protect children from sexual abuse and prevent perpetrators from escaping justice. Emphasises the importance of a national centralised sex offenders register maintained by the Home Office to ensure an interlinked and joined-up approach to sex offender management.

Thanks the hon. Member for Rotherham for bringing this important subject to the Chamber; highlights concerns regarding the DBS system, particularly the privacy rights granted to individuals who change their gender when changing their identity, which compromises identity verification and allows sex offenders to conceal previous identities and criminal history. Emphasises that the current system relies on the honesty of sex offenders, but they are not to be trusted. Provides examples where name changes have allowed sex offenders to hide their criminal pasts and commit further offences; calls for a fix to ensure the system applies the same standards to everyone.

The speaker supports the motion to revoke the right of registered sex offenders to change their name by deed poll. He highlights serious safeguarding issues and cites statistics such as 37,400 petition signatories across the UK and 151 in his constituency. Dorans mentions that between 2017 and 2020, at least 913 sex offenders were missing from records, and only 17 out of 43 police services responded to an FOI request on this issue. He provides the example of Peter Tobin who used false names after being released from prison in 1994 to avoid complying with notification requirements, resulting in several serious crimes including murders.

Phillips praised her hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham for championing the issue and emphasised the importance of safeguarding children and vulnerable people above all else. She highlighted cases where perpetrators have evaded proper scrutiny or legal repercussions, citing examples like Ian Huntley's ability to re-enter public life despite his criminal history. Phillips stressed the ease with which individuals can change their names online without rigorous checks, raising concerns about protecting victims' rights over those of offenders. She also called on the Home Office to publish documents and assess the potential risk posed by missing sex offenders.

Reassures Members that the Government takes concerns seriously. Emphasises commitment to ensuring robust system for managing registered sex offenders. Discusses legislative measures, including sexual harm prevention orders and sexual risk orders. Mentions recent changes in Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and introduction of MAPPS. Acknowledges name change issues and ongoing internal review. Committed to working with Ministry of Justice on sensitive matters.

Questions the robustness of current legislation and restrictions when sex offenders choose to ignore them.

Asks if all sex offenders pose a high risk of harm, challenging existing categorizations.

Questions the disclosure of previous identities in safeguarding measures and asks about preventing withholding of previous names from DBS certificates under sensitive applications route.

Welcomes Minister's commitment to working closely with Victims Minister, Edward Argar, for a collaborative approach to solving the problem.

Requests transparency and access to the review on amendment tabled by Sarah Champion to Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 to understand the scale of the problem better.

Asked the Minister to share the full review with every Member of the House, emphasising the privilege and scrutiny legislators face.

Requested an intervention from the Minister during the debate.

Contested the idea that preventing sex offenders from changing their gender identity breaches European convention on human rights, suggesting a need for careful consideration.

Thanked the Minister and other Members for engaging in the debate as a cross-party safeguarding issue. Emphasised reliance on registered sex offenders self-reporting to police, highlighting the known problem of around 200 missing per year and 2,000 prosecutions annually for breaches. Called for publication of internal government report and Mick Creedon's report to understand the true scale of the issue.