Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020
A
Welsh Government Bill, introduced by Julie Morgan AM, Deputy Minister for
Health and Social Services. The Business Committee remitted the Bill to the Children,
Young People and Education Committee.
About the Bill
The
purpose of the Bill was 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.
The
defence did apply in respect of both the criminal and civil law. Under the
criminal law, it applied in respect of the common law offences of assault and
battery; and under civil law, in respect of the tort of trespass against the
person.
The
Bill intended to support children’s rights by prohibiting the use of physical
punishment, through removal of this defence. The intended effect of the Bill,
together with an awareness-raising campaign and support for parents, was to
bring about a further reduction in the use and tolerance of the physical
punishment of children in Wales.
Further
detail about the Bill can be found in its accompanying Explanatory Memorandum.
The
Welsh Government also published a web page for the Bill which provides further
information and details of the impact assessments undertaken.
Current Stage
BillStageAct
The
Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act became law
in Wales on 20 March 2020.
Record of Passage in the
National Assembly for Wales
The
following table sets out the dates for each stage of the Bill’s passage through
the National Assembly for Wales.
|
Stage |
Documents |
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Bill introduced: 25 March 2019 |
Children (Abolition
of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill, as introduced (PDF
59KB) Explanatory
Memorandum
(PDF 1MB) Presiding Officer’s
Statement: 25 March 2019
(PDF 59KB) Letter from the Chair
to the Business Committee (14 March) – proposed timetable (PDF 77KB) Revised Timetable (PDF 43KB) Bill Summary (PDF 775KB) Bilingual Glossary (PDF 87KB) |
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Stage 1: Committee
considerations of general principles |
Committee
Stage 1 Report The
Committee laid its report on 2 August 2019. Response by the Deputy
Minister for Health and Social Services to the Children, Young People and
Education Committee's Stage 1 Report
- 13 September 2019 Public
Consultation The
Children, Young People and Education Committee issued a call for evidence,
which closed on 14 May 2019. In addition to the Committee’s own analysis of
the consultation responses, the Office for
National Statistics was also commissioned to undertake independent data science
analysis of the responses,
to identify the main issues raised by respondents. Committee consideration CYPE Committee schedule
of oral evidence
(Version 1) (PDF 45KB) The
Children, Young People
and Education Committee
considered the Bill on the following dates:
Stage 1 Correspondence Welsh Government Letter to the Deputy
Minister for Health and Social Services (5 April 2019) – seeking clarification
on focused questions ahead of oral evidence session (PDF 154KB) Letter from the Deputy Minister
for Health and Social Services (25 April 2019) – response to the
Committee’s request for further information ahead of the session on 2 May
(PDF 838KB) Letter from the Deputy
Minister for Health and Social Services (5 April 2019) – further information
in relation to social services data (PDF 285KB) Letter from the Deputy
Minister for Health and Social Services - CAFCASS Cymru's response (4 June
2019) (PDF 352KB) Letter from the Deputy
Minister for Health and Social Services – further information from the
meeting on 12 June (1 July) (PDF 437KB) Letter from the Deputy
Minister for Health and Social Services
- Children’s awareness (12 July) (PDF 266KB) Children
and Young People Letter from the Welsh
Youth Parliament
(1 May 2019) (PDF 698KB) Information
from Lleisiau Bach
Little Voices
(PDF 401KB) Letter from the
Children’s Commissioner for Wales – Children’s awareness (11 July) (PDF 548KB) Timetable
Revised Timetable (PDF 43KB) Targeted
written evidence – responses received Ministry of Justice (PDF 272KB) Family First New Zealand (PDF 7MB) New Zealand Children’s
Commissioner
(PDF 156KB) Sentencing Council for
England and Wales
(PDF 349KB) Targeted
written evidence – responses not received Her Majesty’s Prison and
Probation Service United Nations Committee
on the Rights of the Child The Constitutional and
Legislative Affairs Committee considered the
Bill on the following date:
Letter from the Deputy
Minister for Health and Social Services to the CLA Committee - 18 June 2019 (PDF
343KB) The
Constitutional and
Legislative Affairs Committee
laid its report on the Bill on 2 August 2019. The Finance Committee
considered the Bill on the following date:
The
Finance Committee laid its report on the Bill on 2 August 2019. |
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Stage 1: Debate in Plenary on
general principles |
A
debate took place in Plenary on 17 September 2019.
The motion to agree the general principles of the Bill was agreed. Additional
information provided by the Member in charge of the Bill after the Stage
1 debate – 23 October |
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Financial
Resolution |
In
accordance with Standing Order 26.68 the Presiding Officer indicated that a
financial resolution was required for this Bill. A
Financial Resolution in relation to the Bill was agreed on 17 September 2019. |
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Stage 2: Committee
consideration of amendments |
Stage
2 began on 18 September 2019. Stage
2 proceedings took place on Thursday 24 October 2019. The
order of consideration for Stage 2 proceedings was: sections 1-3; Long title. Notice of amendments – 7
October 2019
(PDF 73KB) Children (Abolition of
Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill, as amended at Stage 2 (PDF 63 KB) (Amendments
to the Bill since the previous version are indicated by sidelining in the
right margin) Changes at Stage 2 –
Research Service Blog 5 December 2019 |
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Stage 3: Plenary consideration
of amendments |
Following
the completion of Stage 2 proceedings, Stage 3 commenced on 25 October 2019. Stage
3 consideration took place in Plenary on 21 January 2020 to consider
amendments to the Bill (as amended at Stage 2). The
order of consideration for Stage 3 proceedings was: sections 1-6; Long title. Notice of amendments – 7
January 2020
(PDF 80KB) Children (Abolition of
Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill, as amended at Stage 3 (PDF 66KB) (Amendments
to the Bill since the previous version are indicated by sidelining in the
right margin) Printing changes to the
Bill as amended at Stage 3
(PDF 58KB) Letter from the Deputy
Minister for Health and Social Services– Update on Stage 3 amendments Stage 3 consideration
and disposal of amendments took place in Plenary on 21 January 2020. |
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Stage 4: Passing of the Bill in
Plenary |
The Bill was agreed by the Assembly on 28 January 2020 The Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill, as passed (PDF, 64KB) Presiding Officer’s Statement:
Bills with protected subject-matter
(PDF 256KB) |
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Post-stage
4 |
The Counsel General and Brexit
Minister
(PDF,
253KB) and Secretary of State for
Wales (PDF 276KB) wrote to the
Presiding Officer to advise that they would not be referring the Children
(Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill to the Supreme
Court under Sections 112 or 114 of the Government of Wales Act 2006. |
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Date of Royal Assent |
Royal
Assent (PDF 64KB) was given on 20 March 2020. |
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Contact information
Clerk:
Llinos Madeley
Phone: 0300 200 6352
Postal address:
National
Assembly for Wales
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff CF99 1NA
Email: SeneddCYPE@Assembly.Wales
Reason considered: Government Business;
Type: For information
First published: 25/03/2019
Documents
- Schedule of oral evidence V1
PDF 45 KB - Schedule of oral evidence V2 PDF 46 KB
- Letter to the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services – 5 April 2019 PDF 154 KB
- Letter from the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services – 5 April 2019 PDF 285 KB
- Targetted Consultation Letter 9 April 2019 PDF 120 KB
- Consultation letter - Intermediaries for Justice PDF 126 KB
- Consultation letter - Ministry of Justice PDF 119 KB
- Consultation letter - UN Committee on the Rights of the Child PDF 114 KB
- Consultation letter - Children’s Commissioner for New Zealand PDF 117 KB
- Consultation letter - Family First New Zealand PDF 118 KB
- Consultation letter - Probation Service, Sentencing Council, Magistrates Association, Association of Directors of Education in Wales, NAHT, ASCL, NASUWT, WLGA, NEU, UCAC, Unite the Union, TUC, Unison PDF 120 KB
- Letter from the Chair to the Business Committee (14 March) - proposed timetable PDF 76 KB
- Letter from the Chair to the Business Committee - request for an extension to the Stage 1 report deadline PDF 75 KB
- Letter from the Chair to the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services - to request to CAFCASS Cymru for information PDF 105 KB
- Restricted enclosure View reasons restricted
- Information from Lleisiau Bach Little Voices PDF 401 KB
- Letter from the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services - 12 July 2019 PDF 332 KB
- Letter to the Clerk from the Rebecca Aron, Legal Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice - April 2019 PDF 413 KB
- Letter from the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services - Inpatient CAMHS provision – 25 April 2019 PDF 804 KB
- Letter from the Children Commissioner for Wales PDF 548 KB
- Ministry of Justice PDF 272 KB
- Sentencing Council for England and Wales PDF 349 KB View as HTML (22) 17 KB
- New Zealand's Children's Commissioner PDF 156 KB
- Family First New Zealand PDF 7 MB
- Handwritten Letters PDF 2 MB
- Additional Information (2 May): Be Reasonable Wales PDF 222 KB View as HTML (26) 16 KB
- Additional Information (2 May): Sally Gobbett, Parent Campaigner PDF 22 MB
- Additional Info (2 May): Equal Protection Network Cymru PDF 484 KB View as HTML (28) 11 KB
- Additional Information (16 May): Police Liaison Unit PDF 451 KB View as HTML (29) 29 KB
- Additional Information (16 May): BASW Cymru PDF 376 KB View as HTML (30) 35 KB
- Additional Information (22 May): Swansea Bay University Health Board PDF 323 KB View as HTML (31) 44 KB
- Independent data science analysis of the consultation responses - Data Science Campus, Office for National Statistics PDF 2 MB
- Letter from the Children’s Commissioner for Wales – Children’s awareness raising - 11 July 2019 PDF 480 KB
- Response by the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services to the Children, Young People and Education Committee's Stage 1 Report - 13 September 2019 PDF 579 KB
- Response by the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services to the Finance Committee's Stage 1 Report - 13 September 2019 PDF 680 KB
- Response by the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services to the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee's Stage 1 Report - 13 September 2019 PDF 288 KB
- Notice of amendments - 7 October 2019 PDF 73 KB
- Purpose and Effect Table - 7 October 2019 PDF 110 KB
- Notice of amendments - 16 October 2019 PDF 64 KB
- Notice of amendments - 17 October 2019 PDF 89 KB
- Marshalled list of Amendments - 18 October 2019 PDF 99 KB
- Groupings of Amendments - 18 October 2019 PDF 66 KB
- Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill, as amended at Stage 2 [UNCHECKED] PDF 63 KB
- Additional information provided by the Member in charge of the Bill after the Stage 1 debate - 23 October PDF 572 KB
- Letter from the Deputy Minister for Deputy Minister for Health – Update on Stage 3 amendments PDF 264 KB
- Letter from the Deputy Minister for Health to Strategic Implementation Group – Update on Stage 3 amendments PDF 279 KB
- Notice of amendments - 7 January 2020 PDF 80 KB
- Letter from Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services - Laying of the updated Explanatory Memorandum - 7 January 2020 PDF 407 KB
- Letter from the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services - Update on progress obtaining reliable social services data highlighted in the Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill - 7 January 2020 PDF 442 KB
- Notice of amendments - 13 January 2020 PDF 59 KB
- Marshalled list of amendments - 15 January 2020 PDF 78 KB
- Groupings of Amendments - 16 January 2020 PDF 65 KB
- Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill, as amended at Stage 3 PDF 66 KB
- Letter from the Finance Committee to the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services - 28 January 2020 PDF 158 KB
- Printing changes to the Bill as amended at Stage 3 PDF 58 KB
- Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill, as passed PDF 65 KB
- Letter from the Secretary of State for Wales - 25 February 2020 PDF 276 KB
- Letter from Counsel General and Brexit Minister - 25 February 2020 PDF 252 KB
- Letter from the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services to the Chair of the Children, Young People and Education Committee regarding the Children (Abolition of the Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020 - 15 March 2020 PDF 548 KB
Consultations