AM speaks out against smacking ban

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood (pictured) has slammed those behind introducing a smacking ban in  Wales.

And he accused them of “living in an unrepresentative Cardiff Bay bubble, where sitting in judgement on others and deciding what is good for them takes priority over listening to the people they are supposed to represent”.

Speaking in the Stage 3 Debate on the Children (Abolition of the Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill,  Mr Isherwood said a ban is not wanted by the majority, has proved ineffective in countries where smacking is already criminalised, and would criminalise “normal, decent, loving parents who use a smack from time to time”.

He said: “As I said when we debated this Bill in September, I am the Parent of six, all now responsible and caring adults, a God Parent, Grandparent, Uncle and Great Uncle.

“Three of my daughters are currently pregnant. Two of these now live a few miles away in England. They told me that they are grateful this Bill will not apply to them. However, our other pregnant daughter, who still lives in Wales, is worried about the ‘Snoopers Charter’ this Bill threatens to introduce.

“In a nationwide poll in New Zealand, where smacking is already criminalised, 70% said that they would not report a parent that they saw smacking a child, but 20% would become snoopers.

“The people behind this Bill appear to live in an unrepresentative Cardiff Bay bubble, where sitting in judgement on others and deciding what is good for them takes priority over listening to the people they are supposed to represent.

“They claim to be protecting children and state that those who disagree with them need positive parenting courses.

“However, the overwhelming majority of parents already know and apply the positive parenting interventions they advocate, whilst also retaining the option of light smacking in their positive parenting toolkit for rare use in times of danger or as a last resort."

He added: “A recent survey of Welsh local councillors found that seven in 10 are opposed to a smacking ban – including a majority from each of the main parties – and that nine in 10 say that councils do not have the resources to cope with one.

“Concern has been raised that the Welsh Government has not given an assessment of the costs to social services of this Bill in terms of an uplift in referrals and an increased burden on social workers.

“I stated here in September that I had received extensive correspondence from constituents regarding this Bill, all of which had asked me to oppose it.

“Four months later, I have not received a single request from any constituent to support this Bill, not one, but I have received numerous emails from constituents asking me to support Amendment 10 as moved today by Janet Finch-Saunders, which would delay the smacking ban coming into force until the UK Government, Police, and Crown Prosecution Service have established a pathway (as an alternative to prosecution) for those affected by the changes to the law.

“This follows a recommendation to this effect in ‘The Children, Young People and Education Committee’s Stage 1 Report on the Bill’, which recognises that Policing and Justice in Wales are a non-devolved responsibility.

“It is not having boundaries that contributes to damaged and disordered lives, disturbance and delinquency, but a lack of them. Instead of criminalising normal, decent, loving parents who use a smack from time to time, we must recognise the clear difference between smacking and child abuse, which the vast majority of parents are well able to recognise. This debate is a distraction, when our full focus should be on the growing reports of the sexual abuse, exploitation and forced labour of children."