Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said he does not believe the state should be ‘nannying’ parents about the way they bring up their children. He has rejected the call to ban smacking children in England, saying, ‘Parents are entitled to discipline their children. My very strong view is we must trust parents on this. They should be entitled to discipline their children. There is a very big difference between a “light smack on the arm” and child abuse.’ Dame Rachel De Souza, the children's commissioner, has signalled her support for changing the law to give children the same protection from assault as adults. Wales has made illegal any type of corporal punishment, including smacking, hitting, slapping or shaking illegal. In England and Northern Ireland, smacking a child is unlawful, but is allowed as long as it constitutes ‘reasonable punishment’.