AN ASSEMBLY Member has urged Welsh Government to ditch smacking ban plans.

North Wales Assembly Member, and father of six, Mark Isherwood AM, has called on the Welsh Government to 'focus on tackling growing reports of the sexual abuse, exploitation and forced labour of children' instead of criminalising decent parents by introducing a smacking ban in Wales.

If passed, the Welsh Government’s Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill would remove the legal defence of reasonable chastisement and make very mild parental smacking a criminal offence.

Speaking in a debate, Mr Isherwood said children in Wales are protected under existing legislation.

He said: "Seven in ten people oppose the Welsh Government’s smacking Bill.

"I do not see it to be in the interests of parents, children or anyone else in society to criminalise smacking.

"There is no indication of how such a measure would be implemented or funded, and it will send entirely the wrong message to parents struggling to bring up their children.

"I guess that most of us were smacked as children, not by criminal parents, but by loving, caring parents/grandparents who desired only our wellbeing, safety and a desire to teach right and wrong.

"We would not accuse our parents of abuse or reckon they were criminals.

"It is a great pity, in my opinion, that a vocal minority would be allowed to sway the day on this.

"And children suffering real abuse would be more at risk due to the police and social services being overwhelmed with inconsequential reports."

Mr Isherwood said 'decent families' would be left 'traumatised'.

The AM said he spoke in the 2011 debate on the 'End of Lawful Chastisement' where he quoted the Crown Prosecution Service.

He added: "I also quoted the Crown Prosecution Service, which states that 'for minor assaults committed by an adult upon a child that result in injuries such as grazes, scratches, abrasions, minor bruising, swelling, superficial cuts or a black eye, the appropriate charge will normally be Actual Bodily Harm for which the defence of "reasonable chastisement” is no longer available.

"However, if the injury amounts to no more than reddening of the skin, and the injury is transient and trifling…the reasonable chastisement defence remains available’.

"As I then concluded “instead of criminalising millions of decent, loving parents who use a smack from time to time, we must recognise the clear difference between smacking and child abuse, which the vast majority of parents are well able to recognise.

"This debate is a distraction, when our full focus should be on the growing reports of the sexual abuse, exploitation and forced labour of children."