The UK government plans to observe the impact of Wales' smacking ban before deciding on a similar policy for England.
The education secretary has said a ban on smacking in England is not part of new plans to help keep children safe. Instead, Bridget Phillipson said the government will wait to see how a ban on smacking in Wales works before outlawing it in England. Yesterday, 17 December, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill was introduced in Parliament. The Bill is a proposal for new laws to protect children and improve education. It includes measures such as a register of children not in school.
And revokes the right for parents to home educate if a child is thought to be at risk. The Bill was introduced on the same day as the father and stepmother of 10-year-old Sara Sharif were sentenced to life for her murder. Sara had been removed from mainstream school to be home educated after teachers raised concerns for her welfare. In calls to police from Pakistan after fleeing England, Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 42, said he ‘did legally punish’ his daughter and that he ‘beat her up too much’. What is the law on smacking? Smacking was banned in Scotland in 2020 and Wales in 2022. However, in England and Northern Ireland parents can use the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ to smack their children under section 58 of the Children Act 2004. But while the education secretary said the Bill would ‘put children first at every turn’, it doesn’t not include a smacking ban. Talking about whether smacking would be included in the Bill, Bridget Phillipson told Times radio ‘we don't have any plans to legislate’. 'What I want to understand is the impact and the effect of the legislation in Wales,’ she said. 'They will be setting out the first round of a review into the implications and effect of the legislation that they had introduced. I would like to see that, would like to understand it, and to decide then whether it’s necessary to take further measures here in England
CHILD PROTECTION SMACKING WELFARE EDUCATION GOVERNMENT POLICY
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