England snubs Scots lead on smacking

Westminster has rejected the precedent set by the Scottish Executive's decision to ban physical punishment of children aged under three and has decided to make no moves to change the law on smacking in England and Wales. The Department of Health in London announced last week that it did not believe there was public support for changing the law on corporal punishment and said the introduction of the Humans Rights Act in October 2000 gave children in England and Wales sufficient legal protection. This followed analysis of responses to a consultation that attracted submissions from a number of children's health...