London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Education Minister Bridget Phillipson says Labour will review Wales smacking ban’s impact before deciding if similar measures are required in England, confirming no current plans for legislation.
She described the proposals on children’s safety as a “landmark” but she cleared that the smacking ban is not part of the Children’s Wellbeing Bill.
After intense scrutiny of child punishment laws following Sara’s tragic death, charities had urged lawmakers to add a smacking ban to the Children’s Wellbeing Bill.
The Telegraph reports that insiders close to the bill discussions revealed the smacking ban “will not be on the face of the Bill,” as the Government is “keen not to overload it.”
While Sir Keir Starmer called in 2022 for the smacking ban in Wales to be extended nationwide, now the Labour government stated no plans to legislate on the matter.
Ms Phillipson stated on Times Radio that she would “always keep under review the evidence as it emerges.”
The Children’s Bill is set to be presented in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the same day when 10-year-old Sara’s murderers are sentenced.
Sara’s Sharif tragic death came to know when her injured body was found in August last year at her family home in Woking, Surrey. She had been withdrawn from school by her family in the final months of her life, and even teachers observed scars on her face and reported their concerns to community services.
Following the convictions of Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 42, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, for her murder, and her uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, found responsible for her death, Labour leader Sir Starmer said there were “questions that need to be answered” about child protection measures.
It is legally prohibited to hit anyone in England, but under section 58 of the Children Act 2004, a “reasonable punishment” legal defence permits parents to smack their children in certain circumstances.
Rachel De Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, has urged the legislators to change the law on “reasonable chastisement” to be revised as part of the continued Child Welfare Bill in Parliament.
In March 2022, Wales made all types of corporal punishment, including smacking, slapping, shaking, and hitting illegal, while Scotland enacted the same ban in November 2020.
One prominent government source revealed that ministers were carefully observing Wales and Scotland’s smacking ban but refused to comment on the addition of this ban in the Bill.
This Children’s Wellbeing Bill was formally introduced in the King’s Speech in July and will be now one of Labour’s first significant legislative proposals.
The proposed bill will include a target to implement free breakfast clubs across all primary schools in England, as well as create a register for children not attending school, and review home-schooling applications for those believed to be at risk of major harm.
A key aim of the Bill is also to enhance Ofsted’s power to investigate unregistered schools, address profiteering in children’s social care, and reduce costs for parents by limiting the price of mandatory uniforms required by schools.
Both the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the NAHT union for school leaders appreciated the Bill, with ASCL stating the measures “good sense” that “cannot come soon enough,” and NAHT praising the not-in-school register as an “important safeguarding measure…finally being taken after years of delay.”
Independent news reports campaigners are urging Sir Keir Starmer to take further action and enforce a ban on smacking.
The Prime Minister said that the smacking laws had no connection to Sara Sharif’s death.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy, including several Cabinet ministers, have previously expressed their opposition against introducing a smacking ban in England.