A Clwyd West politician has urged the First Minister to drop plans for a smacking ban.

Darren Millar said in the Senydd a smacking ban is not popular in the country at large and that no-one has been clamouring on the doorsteps to ask us to legislate for it.

He said: “We've got many bigger things to do in terms of the challenges that our country has to face. So, I urge you, First Minister, to consider the growing evidence that there is out there about opposition to this sort of approach here in Wales.

“A ComRes poll back in 2017 suggested 76 per cent of people in Wales do not think that parental smacking of children should be a criminal offence. Yet, that's precisely, effectively what is going to happen as a result of the legislation that you are bringing forward."

Mr Millar said: “Seventy per cent of those questioned were concerned that a smacking ban might flood police and social workers with relatively trivial cases, which would mean that they would struggle to stop the serious abusers of children."

He added: Seventy seven per cent think it should be the role of parents and guardians to decide whether or not to smack their children, not the state. Sixty-eight per cent of those surveyed said that it's sometimes necessary to smack a naughty child.

He added: “The current law is working. It safeguards against abuse, and the defence of reasonable chastisement isn't one that is being used in the courts. The Crown Prosecution Service said across England and Wales between 2009-17, there were just three cases reported to them where the defence of reasonable chastisement was actually used. All of those cases, all three, were in England, there wasn't a single case in Wales. That suggests that the defence is not being misused to enable child abuse, as the Welsh Government is suggesting.

“There are many more important things that you ought to be focusing on in terms of opportunities for children and young people.

Mr Millar added: “It will result in many decent, loving parents being criminalised and the precious time of police offices and social workers being distracted from the serious abuse that they should be focusing on.”