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Children and Young Persons Bill [Lords]

I am grateful for the opportunity to take part in this very important debate, especially as it is about protecting some of the most vulnerable children in our society. The proposals are fantastic and will no doubt improve the general health and well-being of looked-after children. However, I want to speak briefly about extending those protections to all our children, and about a reform that is currently not in the Bill but should be—a ban on all forms of violence against all children. I declare an interest as both a trustee of the UK Youth Parliament and a passionate supporter of the Children Are Unbeatable! Alliance—a cross-party umbrella group of more than 400 different organisations and professionals, which campaigns on the single issue of making the physical punishment or chastisement of children illegal. This year, hundreds of thousands of children will be hit—with the approval of the law. If we were talking about any other group of people, there would be a public outcry. We would not be allowed to hide behind euphemisms such as ““smacking”” or ““a clip round the ear””. If I were to hit someone whose behaviour I found unacceptable, I would be acting illegally. If I were to hit my five-month-old baby in a supermarket just because he was screaming, there would be little protection for him against such violence. Smacking means deliberately hurting children as punishment. It should have no place in a modern, civilised society, especially at the moment when we are trying to put an end to all forms of violence. Parliament must send an unequivocal message that hitting all children is as unacceptable and unlawful as hitting anyone else. This is an equality and human rights issue. Children and young people do not have the same rights and protections as adults, yet are often in far more vulnerable situations. I urge hon. Members to listen to the professionals working with children and families, who say that the unclear, unsafe and unjust legal defence of ““reasonable punishment”” in section 58 of the Children Act 2004 should be abolished right now to give children equal protection from assault. I refer to the Government's public consultation only year, which concluded:"““Respondents generally felt that section 58 of the Children Act 2004 had made little positive impact on children, families and those working with them. It was considered that section 58 has not improved legal protection for children in cases of alleged assault by their parents. Many respondents felt that the only way to protect children is to ban physical discipline outright.””" Our own children's commissioners last week called for urgent action on the issue. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child says that reform should be an ““immediate and unqualified obligation””. Above all, I urge hon. Members to listen to children—like my own five-month-old who cannot even speak yet—and to hear their fears and concerns. When the time comes for a fuller debate on the issue, I hope that all Members of the House will give children the full legal protection from hit and hurt that all of us in here take for granted.