MS, Minister for Children and
Social Care: On 21 March 2022, Wales joined more than 60 nations
around the world in prohibiting the use of physical punishment of
children. This fulfilled our Programme for Government commitment
and marked an historic moment for children and their rights in
Wales.
The overarching aim of the Children (Abolition of Defence of
Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020 is to help protect
children's rights. It provides children in Wales with the same
protection from assault as adults and means the physical
punishment of children is prohibited in all settings in Wales.
Before the legislation came into force, we delivered an extensive
multi-media communications and engagement campaign to ensure as
many people as possible were aware of the change in the law. We
have continued to raise awareness of the law and
provide information, advice and support for parents about
positive alternatives to physical punishment, through the
Parenting: Give it time campaign to help them build a
loving and mutually respectful relationship with their child.
We have also worked with Children in Wales to develop and
publish resources for professionals, to support them to
communicate with children about the law, in an appropriate and
sensitive manner.
Between April 2022 and March 2025, up to £2.4m has been made
available to local authorities to fund out-of-court parenting
support as a rehabilitative alternative to prosecution. This aims
to encourage and support parents in adopting positive parenting
techniques while making it clear that the physical punishment of
children is unacceptable in all circumstances.
21 March 2025 marks the third anniversary of this landmark
legislation coming into force. This is an important milestone in
our journey and an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have
made so far.
The Act places a duty on Welsh Ministers to prepare and publish
reports on the effect of the changes to the law – three and five
years after the Act came into force. The areas the reviews will
cover have previously been agreed and include the impact on
public services; awareness of the law and attitudes to physical
punishment; and stakeholder views and experiences.
We have worked closely with partners across a range of sectors to
put in place arrangements to measure the impact of the
legislation, through appropriate data collection and monitoring.
The three-year interim review will bring together the available
data and evidence covering the period up to the end of March
2025. Allowing for data collection and analysis, it is my
intention that a post-implementation review report will be laid
before the end of 2025.
