The act abolishes this defence, meaning parents and carers could face prosecution for any use of physical punishment on children.

[1] The bill was lodged by the Scottish Green party MSP John Finnie who argued that it would "send a strong message that violence is never acceptable in any setting".

The rule change won the support of his party as well as the SNP, Labour and Lib Dems.

[2] The bill was opposed by the Conservatives with higher education spokesperson in the Scottish Parliament, Oliver Mundell arguing that “These concerns about criminalisation have been dismissed throughout the passage of this bill but the truth is no one here can guarantee how this bill will be implemented and interpreted by the police, prosecutors or our courts.”[2] The ban was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 3 October 2019 and came into force on 7 November 2020.

[1][3] At the time of its introduction, Scotland was the only part of the UK to have entirely outlawed all use of corporal punishment on minors[4] but a similar law came into force in Wales in 2022.