§ Mr. Beithasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he intended, in his recent letter to chief education officers on corporal punishment in schools, to convey the view that article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights precludes the retention of corporal punishment in schools on a strictly regulated basis as a penalty of last resort.
§ Dr. BoysonNo. The purpose of the letter was to make local education authorities aware that the use of corporal punishment might in certain circumstances amount to treatment contrary to article 3 of the convention.