Bar Council advise National Assembly on progressing Wales smacking ban
As the proposed Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill moves forward, the Bar Council, which represents all barristers in England and Wales, has responded to the National Assembly for Wales’ public consultation with its view on the general principles of the Bill.
In its response, expert barristers on the Bar Council’s Law Reform Committee, chaired by Iain MacDonald, agreed that the National Assembly has competence to enact this legislation and advised on alternatives to the proposed clauses.
The purpose of the Bill is to abolish the common law defence of reasonable punishment so it is no longer available in Wales to parents or those acting in loco parentis as a defence to assault or battery against a child and thereby prohibiting the physical punishment of children in Wales.
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