Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What assessment has been made of the adequacy of training in the use of body worn cameras for rail staff on Train companies contracted to her Department.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Train Operating Companies (TOCs) 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 aforementioned 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 TOCs measure perceptions of staff safety and develop action plans accordingly. We encourage rail operators to consider the personal safety of its rail staff, including encouraging greater use of Body Worn Video (BWV), which was proven in a 2019 trial to reduce violence against BWV wearing staff at railway stations by 47%.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she requires the train companies contracted to her Department to include trade union health and safety representatives in post violent incident activity including safety inspections, violence at work policy reviews and reviews of safety risk assessments.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What assessment she has made of the sharing of violence at work data with trade unions by the train companies contracted to her Department.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What assessment she has made of the triggers for violence perpetrated on the rail network.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
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.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What assessment has she made of the adequacy of reporting procedures for workplace violence at the train companies contracted to her Department.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
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 need to undertake violence at work risk assessments.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What instruction she has given to the train companies contracted to her Department on the lone working of rail staff and the impact on staff safety and security.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What assessment has she made of the training provided to frontline rail workers on dealing with conflict at work.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 83230 on Skilled Workers: Visas, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of the changes to income thresholds in the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, HC 997, published on 1 July 2025, on the number of people employed on Skilled Worker Visas in the transport sector who no longer have leave to remain.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has not produced a formal estimate of the number of individuals across the transport sector who may no longer have leave to remain as a result of the changes introduced in the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC 997) on 1 July 2025.
The changes to income thresholds only affect those in the Skilled Worker route when they next make an application to change employment, extend their stay, or settle. Until this happens, those who have been in the route since before 4 April 2024 continue to be subject to lower overall salary requirements.
The Department is working with the transport sector and the Migration Advisory Committee to consider if any transport jobs should be included on the temporary shortage list.