The Government stuck to its guns on physical punishment last week, when he Prime Minister's official spokesman rejected calls by the health select committee to use the forthcoming Green Paper on children at risk to remove the defence of 'reasonable chastisement' by parents. The spokesman said that smacking was a matter of individual choice for parents, most of whom understood the difference between discipline and abuse. The health select committee had been considering the recommendations Lord Laming made in his inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie, which will be considered in the Green Paper's plans for strengthening protection of children. Last week the joint committee on human rights also called on the Government to end the defence of reasonable chastisement, in line with its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
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