To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on introducing measures to place people other than parents prosecuted for (a) abducting and (b) attempting to abduct children on the Sex Offenders Register. (105634)

At the end of last year, we consulted with over 130 organisations on the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and how it was working in practice. Those consulted included law enforcement agencies and legal and judicial bodies. Specific questions were asked in relation to whether the list of relevant offences for which a sex offender could be made subject to the notification requirements (commonly referred to as the ‘Sex Offenders Register’) needed to be amended to include other offences. Nine organisations responded to these questions, including the Association of Chief Police Officers and three local Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPAs).

We are also aware of a case in York which has led to the ‘Change It’ campaign by the York local paper The Press to include child abduction on the list of offences for which a sex offender can be made subject to the notification requirements. We have been presented with a public petition from The Press to that effect.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has plans to bring forward amendments to the Sex Offenders Act 2003 to place on the Sex Offenders Register strangers who abduct or attempt to abduct children. (105635)

We have undertaken a review of the offences listed in Schedules 3 and 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, whereby if someone has been convicted of one of those offences, they may be made subject to the notification requirements (commonly referred to as the ‘Sex Offenders Register’). As part of the review, we have become aware of concerns that child abduction should be added to the list of relevant offences. We are currently finalising an Order amending the list of offences in Schedules 3 and 5 of the 2003 Act which we will lay as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children were abducted by (a) strangers and (b) family members in England and Wales in each of the last five years. (105636)

The number of recorded offences of child abduction are given in the following table. It is not possible to identify the relationship of the suspect to the victim in the recorded crime statistics. Not all child abductions will necessarily have a sexual motive; many child abductions are likely to be carried out by parents where there are disputes of custody.