No Plans To Ban Smacking Children In England, Says Cabinet Minister

There are no plans to ban smacking children in England, according to a senior minister.

Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, has urged Labour to follow Scotland and Wales in outlawing the practice.

But on BBC Breakfast this morning, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said there was no immediate prospect of the UK government doing the same.

She was speaking as she unveiled the children’s wellbeing and schools bill, which is aimed at protecting vulnerable young people.

She said: “I will always listen to the children’s commissioner’s views on this and other topics. We’re not setting out measures in the legislation I’m announcing today around this.

“I do want to understand the impact of the legislation in Wales and in Scotland to understand whether it has improved outcomes for children and what the implications have been.

“We don’t have any plans at the moment within this legislation to bring forward any measures here.”

Phillipson added: “It can be really tough being a parent, especially if you’re in challenging circumstances and different parents will do things in a slightly different way.

“As a government, what I’m focused on is how we protect the most vulnerable children.”