Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing the notion of reasonable chastisement.

Violence towards children and abuse of children are never acceptable. There are laws in place to protect children against this.

Wales is in the process of reviewing the impact of removing the defence of reasonable chastisement and the UK Government expects that the Welsh Government will publish their findings by the end of this year. Ministers in the department will want to consider this evidence, with other government ministers, ahead of deciding whether a change to the law is required.