Children, Schools and Families Bill

I understand that but, as I may be able to explain as I move into the argument, the law on this subject is perhaps a little more complex than the hon. Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole suggested. Let me go back to what I was saying. The Liberal Democrats propose to insert a new provision in section 58 of the Children Act 2004. For the purposes of the amendment, it may be described as subsection (4A). After subsection (4), the following words would appear:""Only a person with parental responsibility for a child"—" I emphasise the phrase "parental responsibility"—""within the meaning of section 3 of the Children Act 1989 can justify battery of the child on the ground that it constituted reasonable punishment."" The Secretary of State nods his head—that is the statement contained in the new clause proposed by the Liberal Democrats. It clearly infers—I want to get this out of the way—that those with parental responsibility for a child, within that meaning, could justify the battery of a child on the ground that it constituted reasonable punishment. The question that we must address is whether those in the list that the hon. Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole read out—sports coaches, madrassahs, nannies and certain people in loco parentis—would fall within that category.