In evidence, the Welsh NHS Confederation and Swansea Bay UHB were concerned that the Bill's explanatory memorandum does not provide sufficient clarity on the definition of acceptable behaviour once the defence is removed, which could lead to more referrals. So, I therefore think that the Deputy Minister needs to re-evaluate her previous comments that it's up to the individual to do what they think is right in that circumstance, because, frankly, it's a bit of a cop-out. The answers we received at Stage 2 did not reassure me that individuals would be confident enough to know what to do in the event of seeing or learning of a child being physically punished. If the Deputy Minister's view is that it is up to the individual, then the Welsh Government has a duty to ensure that those who are reporting incidents are fully informed as to whether they should be or not and whether they are making things better or worse for the child. Alternatively, if this is not the case, then the Welsh Government should be clear that if the defence of reasonable punishment is removed, physical punishment is indefensible in criminal law. So, the public would have to report it regardless of the circumstances. So, I therefore, once again, ask Members to consider this very carefully and to support our amendment.

Amendment 4: I have re-tabled amendment 4 because I feel that we didn't receive a full or satisfactory response from the Deputy Minister about promoting awareness of the smacking ban amongst children themselves and young people. While I do respect the Deputy Minister's promises at Stage 2, I go back to the point that this amendment was based on a committee recommendation. What is the point of having committees if we ignore their recommendations? This was because we weren't satisfied with the Deputy Minister's replies on how the smacking ban would be taught in the new curriculum. I simply cannot accept that the Bill's objectives would be merely considered as part of developing the new curriculum. We need a clear response from both the Deputy Minister and the Minister for Education on how this is going to work. This legislation will precede the curriculum legislation, so we cannot be assured that it will be included in every school. The Deputy Minister also admitted that the new curriculum would not be designed to specify detailed lists of topics for teachers, so this could mean that awareness lessons differ from school to school, potentially leading to patchy knowledge of a law and its implications.

I welcome the updated explanatory memorandum that explains that work is being carried out to consider the legislation's objectives within the development of the new curriculum, but it does state that practitioners who develop the areas of learning and experience are still going through feedback and are considering how the guidance can be refined. Therefore, I would be grateful if the Deputy Minister would provide us with an update on their ongoing work, as well as a time frame for the Assembly to have sight of this guidance.

During Stage 2 discussions, the Deputy Minister did not quite respond to my specific questions, so I would therefore be grateful if the Deputy Minister would answer the following today: Deputy Minister, will you update us on the discussions you are having with the education Minister to embed uniform teaching of the smacking ban in the new curriculum? Also, will you advise how teaching of the smacking ban will inform children in a balanced way? And, also, how is the Deputy Minister addressing risks encountered by younger children who are unable to articulate their concerns? And of course, these weren't included within the Bill's equality impact assessment. Given that the Deputy Minister is seeking to protect the rights of the child through this Bill, it is only right for Assembly Members to be able to know how children themselves will be taught in the future. So, I therefore call on all Members to support this amendment.

Rounding off this set of amendments on awareness raising, I'd like to end with this point, which was so ably raised by my colleague Suzy Davies AM at Stage 2. She said, unless some of these amendments are accepted by Members of this Welsh Parliament, the position with this Bill is that our influence will be precisely zero over the content of an awareness-raising campaign. So, I therefore urge Members to consider these amendments carefully before casting their votes. Thank you.