§ Mr. Norman HoggTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has had from Kilsyth primary school board concerning corporal punishment; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythThe school board wrote to me on 29 October advocating the reintroduction of corporal punishment in schools as a deterrent of last resort. Following a judgment in the European Court of Human Rights in 1982, the legal safeguards covering the administration of corporal punishment by staff in Scottish schools were withdrawn and this form of sanction was abolished.