The Home Secretary has asked Sir Ian Magee to undertake a review of the ways in which information about criminality is recorded, used and shared for public protection purposes.
It will be a two stage process and the overall duration will be determined once the first stage has been completed. That first stage will be brisk and will focus on scoping the problems, assessing what deficiencies there are and where they lie. The second stage will constitute the substance of the work and will concentrate on conclusions and recommendations for improving the relevant systems.
The review will take account of the report of the inquiry into the handling of overseas convictions. Whatever the review recommends, we will only be able to reduce risks rather than remove them altogether.