I rise to speak in this debate on behalf of my colleague Siân Gwenllian, who is unfortunately unwell and unable to be with us today. But I also rise as a person who has campaigned for over 25 years to bring about this change. And this, of course, has been a matter that has been discussed on many occasions in this Assembly, long before we had the power, and the will was there. Well, now we have the will and the power.

I will speak to this group of amendments and then briefly mention our group's position on the others, but I'll make some brief general remarks to begin with. This is not about making a dramatic change in the way that the law currently works. It is currently impossible for a family to use the defence of reasonable chastisement if a child has been struck and a mark has been left. This is a very, very difficult law to enforce, because people are differently sensitive. I happen to be somebody who bruises very easily, so if my parents had smacked me, they would have got into a lot more trouble than if they'd smacked my big brother who never takes a mark and never seems to bruise at all. So, it's actually very difficult for parents to know what is and isn't permissible under the current law.

We're also not in this debate suggesting a revolution in parenting practices, because the truth is that all opinion surveys and all research now suggests that only a minority of parents continue to use physical punishment, and that most of those who do, when they're asked about it, will say that they did it in a moment of temper, that they regret it, and they don't actually think that it's taught the children very much.

So, while I do accept that the Members opposite have some really genuine concerns, and I think it's right that we exercise them and we discuss them, I really think we need to understand that while the change that the Government is proposing through this legislation is important, it really isn't as big as perhaps some of us feel that it is.

I understand, in turning to this group of amendments, the need to make the public aware of a change in the law. I have to say, I think the Government's commitment on this is substantial. We don't usually have massive public information campaigns when we change the law. We expect people to know that the law has changed. But when sometimes we are proposing a change that has a big influence on people's behaviour, potentially, then it is right to make them aware of the change. But I really don't think that the face of the Bill is the right place for this. We don't normally put these kinds of things on the face of a Bill. [Interruption.] I will, by all means.