§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the majority opinion in the views expressed to Ministers or to his Department generally by members of the public regarding suitable Government responses to the recent judgment by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg regarding corporal punishment for pupils whose parents do not approve of such forms of discipline; and what weight he will attach to expressed public opinion in deciding on the implications of the judgment for Government policy.
§ Dr. BoysonThe majority view expressed in letters to the Department from some 60 individuals about the European Court judgment has been in favour of retaining the use of corporal punishment in schools. Public opinion, however, expressed is always a factor in Government policy-making.