Westminster has ‘no plans’ to ban smacking

The Westminster Government has confirmed it has no plans to introduce a smacking ban in England at this stage, but intends to wait for the Welsh Government to publish its assessment of its 2022 smacking ban.

A smacking ban amendment was tabled to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill last month by Labour MP Jess Asato. It was debated on 6 February during the Committee stage of the Bill, but not put to a vote.

Speaking on behalf of the Government, Minister for School Standards Catherine McKinnell said: “We do not intend to legislate on the defence at this stage, but we will review the position when we have evidence from Wales of the impact since it was removed. Wales will publish its findings by the end of 2025 and we will look at them carefully.”

Acknowledging the complexities of the issue, McKinnell stated: “We recognise that parents have different views and approaches to disciplining their children. We need to consider their voices, and those of the child, trusted stakeholders and people who might be disproportionately affected by the removal of the defence, in making any decisions.”

Speaking in support of the amendment, Lib Dem Education spokesperson Munira Wilson cited the tragic case of Sara Sharif and claimed that banning smacking “is not seeking to interfere with parents in terms of how they discipline their children; it is about protecting our most vulnerable”.

Green MP Ellie Chowns similarly argued: “we do not have equal laws in place to protect children against violence”.

Dismissing suggestions that a smacking ban is needed to prevent parental abuse, McKinnell said: “As the law stands, quite frankly, any suggestion that reasonable punishment could be used as a defence to serious harm to a child, or indeed death, as has been asserted, is completely wrong and frankly absurd.”

The reasonable chastisement defence allows only the mildest tap on the hand or a gentle smack on the back of the legs. Anything that leaves more than a transitory reddening of the skin is not protected under the defence and is already illegal.

Chowns also argued that there was “clear evidence” on the benefits of a smacking ban, as 65 countries worldwide had already banned it. But this argument is misleading, as the majority of countries that have ‘banned’ smacking have only used the civil law. This means it is mostly symbolic, lacking any enforcement mechanism or remaining unenforced in practice.

She also tried to suggest that many studies show that physical punishment is not only ineffective at managing children’s behaviour, but also actively harmful. She claimed it was “associated with increased behavioural problems, increased risks of mental health issues and increased risks of more serious assault”.

But again this is misleading, as most of the so-called smacking studies are conducted by those calling for a ban. These papers are designed to persuade, and often lack the academic rigour of genuine scientific research. For example, there is often no distinction in the data between abuse, which is already outlawed, and a gentle tap on the back of the hand. Read our blog: Does science say smacking causes harm?

McKinnell concluded by reminding members that the vast majority of parents want to be good parents and should be given support, and that abusive parents are already caught by existing legislation.

She said: “Abusive parents are caught under the existing legislative framework. The challenge in this area is that parenting is complex. I can attest that it is one of the most difficult jobs anyone can do. Parents know their children, and they want to get it right with their children. As the hon. Member for North Herefordshire acknowledges, parenting programmes and support is what we are focused on. We are putting in place support for parents to be good parents, because that is what the vast majority want to be. When that is not their intent, there are laws in place to prevent harm from coming to children.”