Consultation on the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill
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Tystiolaeth i’r Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg ar gyfer craffu Cyfnod 1 Bil Plant (Diddymu Amddiffyniad Cosb Resymol) (Cymru) |
Evidence submitted to the Children, Young People and Education Committee for Stage 1 scrutiny of the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill |
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CADRP-551 |
CADRP-551 |
About you
Organisation: Association of Directors of Social Services Wales (ADSS Cymru); Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA); Association of Directors of Education in Wales (ADEW)
— Yes
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We note the debate that has taken place across civic life in Wales over the past fifteen years, particularly during the legislative journeys of the Children Act 2004 and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. We recognise that this is an emotive issue, which arouses strong feelings and that there has been deliberation as to whether, as a matter of political judgment, it is right or wise to use the criminal law to prohibit the smacking of children. However, it is evident that a general consensus has emerged across the political divide in that the clause restricting the scope of the ‘reasonable punishment’ defence in the Children Act 2004, despite its rare usage, does require change to ensure there is complete compliance, in both principle and in spirit, of the obligations placed on all legislatures in the UK under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Moreover, given the policy directive that the fourth National Assembly placed on the Executive in 2011, when it voted by a clear majority for a motion calling on the Welsh Government to introduce legislation to guarantee children equal protection under the law on assault, which was then reinforced by a public mandate given to a Welsh Labour manifesto commitment in the 2016 elections, ADSS Cymru and WLGA fully acknowledges that the Welsh Government’s attempt to progress the legislation separately in the Fifth Assembly, is a natural and logical public policy progression.
We also welcome the research work that Welsh Government commissioned to underpin the move to legislation, particularly Legislating to Prohibit Parental Physical Punishment of Children and Parental Physical Punishment: Child Outcomes and Attitudes (both reports by the Public Policy Institute for Wales, 2018). The importance of a strong, robust evidence-base in the development of public policy cannot be overstated.
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This legislative proposal is just one part of the wide-ranging action the Welsh Government has taken, in collaboration with its partners in local government, to support parents to give their children the best start in life and to reinforce the importance of safeguarding in protecting children from harm.
As organisations that represent the leaders of local government in Wales, all our members advocate, on a daily basis, the need for preventative or targeted interventions to assist families who may require additional support to implement positive parenting techniques. We believe that these supportive interventions have enabled a shift in culture and has allowed such families to develop the confidence and knowledge to manage difficult child behaviors in a controlled way without resorting to physical punishment.
We believe that while the removal of the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ will not change parenting practice immediately, it will help to accelerate a cultural change that is already taking place in Wales and will continue to do so over time.
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In the report, Legislating to Prohibit Parental Physical Punishment of Children, one of the clear lessons learned by other jurisdictions that have already legislated in this field is there will be a need for on-going publicity campaigns and awareness raising about the law and its implications, as well providing parents with information and support about alternative disciplinary techniques or positive parenting. That information may have to be tailored to support sections of society where there are strong religious or cultural factors which support physical discipline. However, what must be made very clear to parents, guardians and the public - particularly given the narrow margin in favour of the legislation, as evidenced in the public feedback to the Government’s consultation document - is this legislation is not looking to necessarily criminalise parents or guardians, or undermine their role in the on-going development and education of the children in their care; it’s about protecting all children from harm.
We also believe that any national awareness raising campaign communicating changes in the legislation to remove the defence of reasonable punishment should be subject to consultation with regional Safeguarding Boards.
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It is welcomed that the Explanatory Memorandum that accompanies the Bill recognises the importance of considering the financial and resource implications of the Bill in a post implementation review and local government will be keen to work with Welsh Government to support this work.
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While on the surface the perceived removal of the defence of reasonable punishment looks straightforward, we do believe the issue is more nuanced; so much so that there could be the potential of unintended consequences should there be any perceived deficiency in the depth of clarity required within the detail of the legislation itself.
Therefore, we believe there must be greater clarity around the definition of what constitutes ‘corporal punishment’ and what type of incidents may fall within scope of the legislation. We cannot allow any ambiguity to emerge regarding the legislative interpretation of the Bill; there must be certainty regarding what behaviours will be captured by the change in legislation and where the threshold lies. This will require additional work with both public service bodies, parents, guardians and children themselves. We believe this will ensure that there is clear and consistent understanding for all concerned.
While Government anticipates that there may be a short-term increase in the reporting of incidents to the police and social services departments, it believes that this will decrease following public education and awareness of the law and of more positive parenting techniques. While we do not necessarily disagree or challenge this assumption based on evidence from other jurisdictions, we do believe it will be important to monitor legislative enforcement and any impacts that may emerge very closely.
It needs to be recognised, and we cannot overstate this enough, that local authorities, and children’s services in particular, are already facing significant pressures both financially and in terms of demand. ADSS Cymru and the WLGA produced a paper in 2018 that highlighted these pressures and set-out a number of solutions. (addendum documents). There is already a national challenge regarding the number of children being referred into the care system in Wales and the most perverse and unintended consequence would be to see a further increase in referrals from various partner agencies. So, there will have to be careful consideration as to how the implementation of this legislation will be ‘fully’ resourced to avoid putting undue additional pressures on existing services.
There is of course the challenge of enforcement, not just in relation to parents domiciled in Wales but for those families who visit Wales, who will be subject to new legislative changes. This needs to be carefully considered in how the changes will be communicated.
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To continue the work of positive parenting that local government has taken forward in partnership with the Welsh Government, as well as developing a national awareness and education campaign, will require dedicated additional resource investment and its important the Government work closely with the WLGA and other public body partner agencies to ensure that there are no additional, unfunded financial implications for these bodies, particularly local government education and social service departments.
Moreover, a robust, well communicated education and awareness campaign could well trigger a demand by parents who want to actively seek out and access support around new approaches in order to change their parenting methods. Consequently, there could also be a need for further investment and enhancement of current services to meet that demand and that will require appropriate resourcing so no additional strain is put on existing services.
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As we have already stated, it will be important to have absolute clarity regarding the definition of ‘corporal punishment’ that will fall under the scope of the legislation. As professional leaders in the sector, we must have a consistent and unambiguous understanding of the exact nature of the physical punishment which is no longer to be defended in legislation. Once that clarity is in place, we can then utilise the skills and training of our members to identify where the lines between acceptable discipline and child abuse are. It will then be important that our members, and our front-line colleagues in education and social care receive the necessary training and guidance on the processes involved in reporting and investigating suspected use of physical punishment, as well as how to support families’ wellbeing during the investigation process.