Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her plans to improve the safety of the rail network for women and girls will include changes to existing roles and responsibilities on (a) safety and (b) tackling (i) crime and (ii) anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ensuring the safety of passengers on the rail network is a priority for the department. We work closely with BTP, the rail industry, and Home Office police forces for cross government strategies to tackle violence against women and girls, and we have ambitions in this space to reduce offences on the transport network.
There are currently no plans to change existing roles and responsibilities regarding safety and tackling crime and anti-social behavior. The British Transport Police will continue to police the rail network in England, Scotland and Wales.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish a passenger focused plan on train travel post rail-reform which includes recommendations on ensuring the safety of women and girls on trains.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a priority for the Government. We have set ourselves the ambitious target to halve VAWG offences in the next decade using every lever available to us.
My Department and the rail industry, including the British Transport Police are committed to ensuring the safety of women and girls on trains. As we deliver rail reform, we will ensure that plans are in place to build on the good work being done by the rail industry to improve the safety of the rail network for all who use it.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the (a) British Transport Police and (b) National Police Chiefs Council on levels of violence against women and girls on trains.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department and ministers are in regular contact with the British Transport Police (BTP), who are a member of the National Police Chiefs Council, regarding their commitment to tackling VAWG offences on the rail network. The Force are a key partner in supporting the Government’s mission to take back our streets which includes a commitment to halve VAWG offences in the next decade.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) arrests and (b) prosecutions in relation to cases of violence against women and girls on trains in the last five years.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police (BTP) are responsible for policing the rail network in England, Scotland and Wales. The force has provided the following information on arrests and prosecutions against female victims for Violence, Sex and Public Order (Serious) offences in the previous 5 calendar years.
Arrests
Year* | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Number of victims | 819 | 930 | 1156 | 1132 | 1222 |
Prosecutions
Year* | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Number of victims | 956 | 1031 | 1207 | 1197 | 856 |
*To note 1) passenger numbers were reduced in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in reduced numbers of crimes and arrests; 2) Arrest and any subsequent prosecution may not occur in the same calendar year.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing metro mayors to operate bus services.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Metro Mayors do have the ability to franchise bus services without requiring consent, following new legislation introduced by this government in 2017.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help ensure that there is adequate competition between private bus companies in the North East.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The North-East Combined Authority and bus operators are delivering improvements to local bus services through a statutory Enhanced Partnership (EP) and have followed EP guidance issued by the Department for Transport to ensure its compliance with competition law. A competition test and formal consultation with the Competition and Markets Authority have been carried out as part of the EP process. The North-East Combined Authority is responsible for the content of their Enhanced Partnership.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to expenditure on Microsoft Word training published in DfT: spending over £500, October 2022, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of competency on Microsoft Word among officials in his Department.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Department has made no specific assessment on this point.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of remote terrain training of his Department's staff.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) provides remote terrain training to all its staff as part of its essential health and safety training to prepare it for operations at aircraft accidents in remote locations. The course is bespoke and designed specifically to address the mitigations of hazards that staff could experience when having to access and examine wreckage in remote locations including mountainous terrain, rivers and remote lowlands/wetlands as well as providing training on field first aid.
The training provision is regularly reviewed using feedback from the course and experience from accidents sites which is then used to adapt the course and any refresher training which is also provided at suitable intervals.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department uses any chauffeur services other than the Government Car Service.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Department does occasionally use taxi and non-GCS car services when GCS cars are not available.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason his Department’s spending with Enterprise Rent-A-Car increased between 2011 and 2022.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The core Department’s spend on vehicle hire with Enterprise has not significantly increased between 2011 and 2022.