HL Deb 14 December 1998 vol 595 cc122-3WA
Baroness David

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether corporal punishment of children;

  1. (a) in schools;
  2. (b) in residential institutions for children;
  3. (c) in the penal system, either as a sentence of the courts or as a punishment in penal institutions;
is permitted in the Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. [HL198]

The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn)

Schools: in Jersey and Guernsey, corporal punishment is forbidden in schools under the jurisdiction of the states and is not used in independent schools. In the Isle of Man, corporal punishment is forbidden in state schools. It is still lawful, with parental consent, in private schools.

Residential institutions for children: corporal punishment is forbidden in residential institutions for children in all three islands.

The penal system: in Jersey and Guernsey and the Isle of Man, although corporal punishment for some male young persons is still on the statute book for certain offences, it is not imposed as a sentence by the courts. Corporal punishment is not permitted in penal institutions in any of the three islands.