Calls to criminalise smacking in England are regaining momentum, with leading psychiatrists urging MPs to back an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Labour MP Jess Asato has tabled an amendment to the bill abolishing the defence of reasonable punishment under the Children Act 2004. The amendment has the support of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) which said: “Physical punishment harms children’s health, wellbeing and puts them at risk of more serious physical harm.”
‘Victorian-era punishment’
The RCPCH last year called for the removal of the legal defence for parents of “reasonable chastisement” in England and Northern Ireland, saying existing laws are “dangerously vague”. RCPCH’s officer for child protection, Professor Andrew Rowland, has called smacking a “Victorian-era punishment”.
Smacking is already banned in Wales and Scotland.
The bill is currently at committee stage. If the amendment, which has cross-party support, is approved, the defence to smacking in England could be removed.
However, Minister for School Standards Catherine McKinnell told the committee, in response to the proposed amendment: “We do not intend to legislate at this stage, but we will wait for Wales to publish its impact report on removing the defence, which is due at the end of 2025. We will look at the evidence of the potential impact before making such a significant legislative change”.
