Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Yvette Cooper and Tracy Gilbert

Monday 29th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Tracy Gilbert (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab)]

23. What steps her Department plans to take to tackle violence against women and girls.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Yvette Cooper)]

For far too long, violence against women and girls has been treated as an inevitability, rather than the national emergency that it is. Our mission is for the whole country to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. That has to start with drastically improving the policing and criminal justice response.

--- Later in debate ---

[Yvette Cooper]

I agree on the importance of that. As well as doing work specifically to target violence against women and girls, this Government are determined to increase neighbourhood policing, to get police back on the streets to make sure that people feel safe. We have lost around 10,000 neighbourhood police officers and police community support officers in the past eight years. We need to turn that around so that everyone can feel safe on our streets.

[Tracy Gilbert]

How will my right hon. Friend work with the devolved nations to ensure that we meet those targets?

[Yvette Cooper]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. The mission needs be right across the UK. We must address this issue in all corners of our country, work in partnership, and learn from what has and has not worked in keeping women safe. We will continue to do that.