Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of (a) recent trends in levels of prevalence of assaults against railway staff and (b) the effectiveness of body-worn video cameras in helping to deter those assaults.

The Government is committed to ensuring that railway workers feel safe and are safe at work. There is no place for abuse or assault of any worker and so the recent reports of a rise in attacks on rail staff is of concern.

The policing of the railway is the responsibility of the British Transport Police (BTP) who work closely with the rail industry and Department for Transport to monitor trends and intervene to ensure the railway remains a safe environment for rail staff and passengers.

My department and BTP encourage rail operators to consider the personal safety of their rail staff, including encouraging greater use of Body Worn Video (BWV), which was academically proven in a 2019 trial to reduce violence against BWV wearing staff at railway stations by 47%.