Tag Archives: The Child Maltreatment Private Member’s Bill

Mark Williams champions a Private Members Bill on the emotional neglect of children

By NewsHound | Tue 19th November 2013 - 2:39 pm

Mark Williams, Lib Dem MP for Ceredigion, is promoting The Child Maltreatment Private Member’s Bill, which will have its second reading this Friday. It aims to make emotional neglect of children a criminal offence. The current law on child neglect, which has been in place for 80 years, only covers physical harm to children.

The Express carries the story with this quote from Mark:

The law, as it is, fails to protect some of the most vulnerable children throughout England and Wales. If the Government is really serious about safeguarding children, the law has to be changed.

The Bill has drawn support from Action for Children. Their research has shown that nearly 70% of police officers believe that the legislation should include emotional neglect.