Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this consultation.  The Sentencing Council does not wish to respond to the consultation in detail, but in answer to the two questions posed in your letter:

· Do you believe there are any implications of implementing this Bill on your work and/or workload?

o The Sentencing Council for England and Wales does not anticipate that implementing the Bill would have any significant implications for its work or workload.

· What discussions are you aware of with Welsh Government about this Bill?

o The Sentencing Council for England and Wales has had no discussions with the Welsh Assembly about this Bill.

I hope this assists

Regards

Ruth Pope

09 April 2019

Dear Colleague,

Children (Abolition Of Defence Of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill

The Children, Young People and Education Committee is undertaking an inquiry into the general principles of the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill (‘the Bill’). More information about the Bill and the Committee’s work on it is attached as an Annex to this letter.

Call for written evidence

Given the relevance of this Bill to your area of work, the Committee is keen to hear from you. The Committee would be grateful for two things:

1. A response to its online consultation

The Committee has issued an open call for evidence and would welcome a response from you. Given the volume of information the Committee expects to receive, and the set timetable in which it is expected to report, we request that you submit all information via an online portal. This will help us ensure that all views are given sufficient consideration. If you have any questions about the portal, please contact the Committee Clerk: seneddcype@assembly.wales.

2. A response to the specific questions below (either as part of your response to the online consultation or in separate correspondence, whichever is easiest for you)

To inform its consideration of the Bill, the Committee would welcome a response to the following questions:

· Do you believe there are any implications of implementing this Bill on your work and/or workload?

· What discussions are you aware of with Welsh Government about this Bill?

The Committee would request that this information is submitted by Tuesday 14 May at the very latest.

Bilingual policy

The National Assembly for Wales has two official languages, Welsh and English.

In line with the Assembly’s Official Languages Scheme, the Committee requests that documents or written responses to consultations intended for publication or use in National Assembly proceedings are submitted bilingually. When documents or written responses are not submitted bilingually, we will publish in the language submitted, stating that it has been received in that language only.

We expect other organisations to implement their own standards or schemes and to comply with their statutory obligations.

Disclosure of information

You can find further details about how we will use your information at www.assembly.wales/InquiryPrivacy. Please ensure that you have considered these details carefully before submitting information to the Committee.

Yours sincerely,

Lynne Neagle AC / AM
Cadeirydd / Chair