The government will not yield to calls for a ban on smacking, the new minister for children has pledged.

In an interview to be broadcast on Sunday Margaret Hodge rejected MPs' calls a new law, arguing that a ban would be wrong.

"I would think the idea of attempting to enforce a general ban on smacking would be wrong," she tells the GMTV Sunday Programme.

The minister defended the decision arguing a law would be difficult to implement.

"It's ridiculous to pass a law you can't really implement, and we already have pretty rigorous legal frameworks on abuse," she tells the programme.

Many children's welfare groups had called for new laws in the wake of the Victoria Climbie case but Hodge claimed any legislation would serve only to criminalise parents and would not tackle child abuse.

"I'm not sure introducing a general law which could lead to the criminalisation of many, many parents is the best way of tackling abuse. And, you know, lots of parents come to the end of their tether, smack, and then regret it immediately afterwards," she said.

The minister has signalled that her first task will be getting a higher priority by local and national government to the needs of children in care.

Following a report that revealed children in care suffer from mental health problems and low achievement she pledged a green paper would be published shortly setting out key objectives.

"Our aspirations for children in care should be as high as they are for all other children," she said.

"I recognise that it is easy for me to say this and that this represents an enormous challenge at local authority level.

"It is, however, a challenge that has to be taken on. In my new role as children's minister, I am determined to make things better for all children."