Smacking ban being considered by UK government, education secretary says
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said she was ‘open-minded’ about calls for a ban
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The new Labour government is considering a ban on smacking, a cabinet minister has said.
Bridget Phillipson said she was "open-minded" about the move and wanted to hear from experts.
Smacking bans have already been brought in in Scotland and Wales, to outlaw the use of physical violence to punish children.
The move follows fresh calls for a change in the law from the Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza
Education secretary Ms Phillipson told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme “we do need to look at how we keep children safe”.
Asked whether the proposal by the Children’s Commissioner was a good idea, she said: "We are considering it, but this is not an area where we intend to bring forward legislation any time soon.
"I’d be keen to hear from the Children’s Commissioner and from others about how this would work. I’m open-minded on it. It’s not something we intend to legislate on, but I think we do need to look at how we keep children safe."
She said measures set out in the Children’s Wellbeing Bill, which will be brought forward "by the end of the year," would address many of the issues around children’s safeguarding and social care.
In April, paediatricians urged that the law should be changed to ensure smacking a child was not seen as acceptable in any circumstances.
The current law in England and Northern Ireland has created “grey areas” which mean there is sometimes a defence to physical punishment, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said.
Wales made any type of corporal punishment, including smacking, hitting, slapping and shaking, illegal in March 2022, while Scotland had already introduced a similar ban in November 2020.
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