Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on steps to tackle violence against women and girls on public transport in Greater Manchester.

This Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade. Achieving this requires a transformative approach to the way we work together across national and local Government, public services, the private sector, and charities.

This includes working with the Department for Transport and the transport sector, on how we can improve safety for women using the transport network.

I meet Ministerial colleagues from across Government regularly and recently met with the Minister for Local Transport 2024 to discuss how we can better tackle VAWG on transport networks right across the country. My officials and I also engage regularly with the British Transport Police on this issue.

On 27 November 2024, we launched the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in select areas, including Greater Manchester, which will go further than existing protective orders to protect victims.

In addition, Greater Manchester Police is continuing to drive forward the work of Operation Soteria, a unique police and Crown Prosecution Service programme, which has introduced new operating models for the investigation and prosecution of rape in England and Wales.