Calls to make smacking children illegal in England have been rejected by the Government, as they’re apparently “already protected”.
After a new law was introduced back in March 2022 to ban “reasonably punishing” children in Wales, with the nation at the time following in the footsteps of more than 60 other countries across the world, the Government in England has faced increasing calls by NSPCC, Barnardo’s, and other charities and organisations to follow suit.
Any form of corporal or physical punishment – including smacking, hitting, slapping, and shaking – is now against the law in Wales, Scotland, Jersey and dozens of other nations.
But here in England, and also in Northern Ireland, while The Children Act 2004 says it’s unlawful to assault a child in a way that causes actual or grievous bodily harm, or with child cruelty, it is still legal for a parent or carer to discipline a child physically if it’s considered to be reason “reasonable” punishment.
It’s fair to say that physical punishment is a topic of strong debate, and has been for several decades.
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Government rejects calls to ban smacking kids in England / Credit: iStock
According to the latest data from Unicef, around 300 million children aged between two and four worldwide experience violent discipline each year, and 250 million are ‘punished by physical means’ – but a recent YouGov poll of almost 3,500 adults has suggested two thirds of people (67%) across England think this form of disciplining children is “unacceptable”.
The NSPCC has continuously been vocal in speaking out against the use of physical punishment, calling on the Government in England to “put wellbeing of children first”.
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Barnardo’s also says that eliminating physical punishment brings “significant benefits to families”.
Yet despite these increased calls, according to the BBC, the Government has this week rejected the idea of making physical punishment illegal in England – arguing that parents and carers should be trusted to discipline their children, and claiming that children are “already protected” by law.
Charities have been calling on the Government to “put wellbeing of children first” / Credit: NSPCC
A Department for Education spokesperson told the BBC that the Government “does not condone any violence towards children” and has “clear laws in place to prevent it”.
The Government says it is also supporting teachers, social workers, and all safeguarding professionals to spot the signs of abuse or neglect in children more quickly through a statutory framework published back in September 2021.
Featured Image – Welsh Government
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Record 29 million people expected to drive home for Christmas this year
Emily Sergeant
Drivers are being told to prepare for long queues, as a record number of festive trips are predicted across the UK ahead of the big day.
With the festive season generally known to make the roads nationwide busier than usual, travel warnings have now been issued to all those making Christmas getaway trips for the holidays – with an annual study by the RAC and INRIX suggesting that 29 million journeys are planned before Christmas Day arrives.
Nearly half of these journeys (14.3 million) are set to be crammed into this coming weekend.
But, as Christmas falls mid-week this year, the figures suggest there will be an extended period of ‘pre-Christmas panic’ on the roads, with 5.7m trips taken yesterday and today alone.
The true festive getaway kicks off tomorrow (20 December), with an expected 3 million trips on this day, before the figure then jumps up to 3.7 million and 2.9 million this coming weekend (Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 December) – which is the final weekend before the big day itself.
A record 29 million people expected to drive home for Christmas this year / Credit: Geograph
By far the single busiest day, however, has to be Christmas Eve, with 3.8 million separate getaway journeys expected by car, on top of the final flurries of commuter traffic.
To make matters worse for everyone, the RAC’s research has also revealed that a further 4.7 million trips are expected at some point between the 20 and 22 December, and 2.5 million on either the 23 or 24 December, all coming from motorists who haven’t yet decided which day they’ll travel.
When it comes to the best and worst times to travel over the festive period, the research has revealed that the worst time to travel along major routes will be between 1pm and 7pm, especially tomorrow and Saturday, so both the RAC and INRIX are suggesting that drivers set off early in the morning, or later in the evening when the heaviest of the traffic should have subsided.
After the big day, there are an additional 4.4 million trips predicted on Boxing Day and 3.8 million on Friday 27 December.
On these days, drivers are advised to avoid major roads during the hours of 10am to 3pm, which is when journeys are expected to take significantly longer than usual.
A third of Brits want police to immediately ban drink drivers at the roadside
Emily Sergeant
A third of Brits support giving police powers to immediately ban drink drivers at the roadside, a new survey has revealed.
Ahead of the festive travel season, where a record number of people are expected to hit the road and make journeys all across the UK over the next couple of days, the RAC has asked more than 2,500 drivers to give their thoughts on the state of the roads for 2024’s edition of the Report on Motoring, and found that tougher sentences were the most popular solution among motorists for tackling the problem of drink-driving.
With instances of drink-driving said to be responsible for the deaths of some 300 people in 2022 – which is when the latest data on this was collected – four in 10 motorists (38%) believe harsher sentences are the answer.
A third of drivers (33%) also support giving the police new powers to immediately disqualify drink-drivers at the roadside once they’ve been stopped.
A third of Brits want police to immediately ban drink drivers at the roadside / Credit – Vladimir Proskurovskiy (via Unsplash)
The idea that convicted drink-drivers should have alcohol interlocks, also known as ‘alcolocks’, fitted to their vehicles to prevent them driving if they have any alcohol in their system, was favoured by 32% of those questioned by the RAC.
A similar number of drivers (31%) also want to see roadside breathalyser testing increased.
When it comes to drug drivers, results from the RAC’s survey are a similar story, only higher – with almost two-thirds of all drivers (64%) supporting tougher sentencing for drug-drivers, and 56% saying they would like to see increased levels of roadside testing.
Just under half (49%) of motorists questioned want the police to be able to immediately disqualify drug-drivers at the roadside.
Speaking on the findings from the RAC’s survey, Chief Constable Jo Shiner, who is the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing, commented: “In policing, we see the damaging impact of drink and drug driving all too often, and every fatality or serious injury which happens as a consequence of this is completely avoidable.
“Driving under the influence of drink or drugs puts everyone at risk – individuals, families, businesses and whole communities.
Emily Sergeant -
13th April 2023 
