Children: Physical Punishment

Baroness Walmsley Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Walmsley]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the University College London report Physical punishment and child outcomes in the UK, published on 10 June, particularly its findings about the effect that hitting children has on their behaviour and wellbeing.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education and Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Smith of Malvern) (Lab)]

My Lords, we welcome the evidence in this report, in particular the inclusion of the voices of children and young people. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act is a key step towards delivering the Government’s mission to break the link between young people’s background and their future success, and will deliver new measures to support children’s behaviour, well-being and protection. This sits alongside earlier support for children and families through our £2.4 billion families first partnership programme and our Best Start Family Hubs.

[Baroness Walmsley (LD)]

My Lords, we already know that regular physical punishment encourages children to bully other children and damages their relationship with their parents. The UCL research has now shown us that it also damages their educational attainment and future prospects. When will the Government take not just a small step but follow the example of Wales and Scotland and dozens of other countries and give children equal protection under the law of assault as the adults around them have? The Government plan to protect children from online harms. How about protecting them in their own homes?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The UCL research is interesting. I note that UCL itself says that the analysis does not necessarily prove causality, although it does demonstrate correlation. The action that this Government are taking is not a small step, including as it does the reform of the children’s social care system and considerable investment in the Best Start Family Hubs programme to support children and parents with some of the difficult decisions and issues that any of us who have parented know that we will face. That strikes me as being a quite important development, very well invested in, in this country.