Christine Chapman AM
Chair
Children and Young People Committee
National Assembly for Wales
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff
CF99 1NA
1st March 2013
Dear Christine,
We are writing to request that the Children are unbeatable! Alliance Cymru should be invited to give oral evidence to the Stage 1 Inquiry into the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill.
We believe this Bill, with its focus on social welfare including the care and protection of children, is the logical vehicle for a provision to remove the “reasonable punishment” defence in relation to assaults on children in Wales. Ending the legality of violent punishment is a fundamental human rights and equality issue for children; it is an essential element in effective child protection and in achieving children’s safety and well-being.
Successive Welsh Governments for more than 10 years have been committed to achieving this reform, which has been supported by various National Assembly votes. In October 2011 the First Minister confirmed that Wales now has the devolved power to legislate to remove the defence. The commitment of Wales to banning physical punishment was reported to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2007 and acknowledged by the Committee in its 2008 concluding observations on the UK Government’s report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The enactment of the Rights of Children and Young People Measure in 2011 reinforces the need to legislate now.
CAU! Cymru is an Alliance of more than 200 organisations and many prominent individuals which believes that the first legislative opportunity should be used to fulfill children’s rights to respect for their human dignity and physical integrity and to equal protection under the law. We will be making written submissions to the Stage 1 Inquiry.
We look forward to hearing from you. We have also written to Mark Drakeford AM, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Anne Crowley
Coordinator, CAU! Cymru, on behalf of CAU! Cymru Strategy Group, including:
Action for Children
Barnardo’s
Children in Wales
NSPCC
Save the Children