Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What instructions has she given to the train companies contracted to her Department on the consideration of violence at work as part of workplace stress risk assessments.

Train operating companies must comply with the law, which includes the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The Office of Rail and Road, as the independent railway safety regulator for the UK, oversees these legal requirements. Its enforcement powers derive from the 1974 Act, and range from giving advice and information, through to prosecution in the courts. This covers issues such as lone working, violence at work etc.

The Secretary of State also requests, through National Rail Contracts, that train operating companies measure perceptions of staff safety and develop action plans accordingly.