Bid for a smacking ban fails in the Assembly

A bid to change the Children Act and ban smacking in Wales failed in the Assembly last night.

After a heated debate AMs voted 14 for and 39 against, with one abstention, for a change proposed by Gwent AM Lindsay Whittle to the Social Services and Well-being Bill.

The amendment would have banned smacking in Wales, but there was concern at the law being introduced without consultation.

The Welsh Government’s Gwenda Thomas had called on AMs to reject the amendment, saying a consultation on the bill hadn’t looked at the issue.

She warned the UK Government has previously said it was not in the Assembly’s powers, raising the possibility it could be referred to the Supreme Court and delaying the whole bill as a result.

But she said: “There will be opportunities to examine this issue in forthcoming legislation in this Assembly term.”

In 2011 the Assembly’s members had voted for a motion calling for a ban – the Welsh Government said at the time that no such law would be introduced within the Assembly term.