'Deepening crisis' warning as social workers are 'under siege' dealing with Scotland's smacking ban

And they say that the controversial smacking ban could undermine child protection by pushing “beleaguered" social work services "over the edge".

They highlight a damning report by public sector union UNISON which found services are massively understaffed and overworked.

Scotland's ban on parents smacking their children became law earlier this month, making it the first part of the UK to outlaw physical punishment of under-16.

Under the smacking ban, parents who use physical discipline of any kind with their children commit a criminal offence.

Reports of smacking will lead to police investigations and, potentially, prosecution for criminal assault.

Be Reasonable, which called the legislation "draconian" and is arguing that it could do more harm than good now say that social workers themselves are now in the firing line.

Dr Ashley Frawley, an ally of the Be Reasonable campaign, commented: “As the new law takes root in Scotland, we can expect a significant impact on social work services. Loving families who’ve had no contact with the authorities previously will be referred to social work following a report of ‘physical punishment’.

“During scrutiny of the smacking bill, the Scottish Government was unable to quantify how many additional referrals social work departments will have to deal with. There’s simply no way of knowing how many new cases there will be.

“UNISON has warned that services are in ‘crisis’. Given the severity of the situation, even the smallest increase in pressure could be devastating, undermining the efficacy of child protection as a whole.”

A freedom of information response from the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) seen by Be Reasonable Scotland states that social work employees who use physical discipline will face severe disciplinary action.

READ MORE: MSPs back plans to ban smacking in Scotland

Asked for internal guidance related to the smacking ban, the SSSC stated: “I can confirm that the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) does not hold any specific guidance in relation to the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act.

“However, I would advise that any criminal conviction relevant to a registered worker would be investigated by our Fitness to Practise department.

"Our Decisions Guidance that is followed by staff and Fitness to Practise Panels makes clear that behaviour outside work is relevant to a worker’s fitness to practise, and that violent behaviour is very serious and likely to result in removal from the register.”

Guidance produced by the SSSC states that a social worker’s fitness to practise may be impaired by “misconduct”, “deficient professional practice” or a “conviction in the United Kingdom…for a criminal offence”.

It adds that employees can be deemed unfit to practice for actions committed “in the course of employment as a social service worker or in any other circumstances”.

Dr Frawley added: “Social workers who are convicted under the smacking legislation or simply accused of smacking could face the sack. If there is a police investigation, this will show up on enhanced background checks for years to come, meaning they’ll struggle to get another job. People’s lives will be ruined and social work departments will be depleted of experienced staff, simply because a parent smacked a child’s bottom or was accused of doing so. It’s outrageous.”

Parents and carers were previously allowed to use physical force to discipline their children if it was considered "reasonable chastisement".

The new law means that the so-called "justifiable assault" defence is no longer available.

It seeks to give children the same protection from assault as adults.

Sweden was the first country in the world to ban smacking in the home when it outlawed corporal punishment in 1979. Scotland has now become the 58th to do so.

In January, Wales was the second part of the UK to pass a law banning people from smacking their children. It will begin in 2022.

There are not currently any plans for England or Northern Ireland to follow suit.

Children's charity the NSPCC has said Scotland's ban was a "common sense" move.

Be Reasonable says that during scrutiny of smacking bill, the Scottish Government failed to provide estimates of additional cases which will arise under the new law, or the financial costs for social services.

In October last year, Be Reasonable Scotland called for a halt to the legislation until suitable analysis was carried out.

Unison, Scotland’s largest union warned of a social work crisis in November, last year, saying cuts have left the service struggling to cope.

In December a survey of Scottish councillors by Be Reasonable concluded that councils will struggle to implement the country’s new smacking ban with concerns raised over the extra stress it will place on social workers, teachers and health workers.

It suggested a general lack of support for the controversial ban across local authority representatives of all main parties.

The research claimed three in four councillors who responded do not believe their council has the resources to handle the additional pressure that a smacking ban may bring.

In addition, seven in 10 say social workers would fail to cope with extra caseloads created by the law, set to be introduced in the coming year.

The survey also claimed most councillors believe parents should be allowed to use reasonable chastisement, and that smacking should not become a criminal offence.

Holyrood voted in October by 84 to 29 to support Scottish Greens’ MSP John Finnie’s anti-smacking bill which outlaws all physical punishment of children and raises the prospect of parents being prosecuted for any use of physical punishment on their own children.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "This important legislation gives children the same legal protections as adults – something backed by an overwhelming majority of public opinion.

“We established an Implementation Group to help implement the Act and Social Work Scotland are members of that Group.”

The SSSC were approached for comment.