Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps she has taken to prevent sexual (a) harassment and (b) abuse on the transport network.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department is working across government and with partners, including the transport industry, local authorities and the British Transport Police (BTP), who are responsible for policing the railway in England, Scotland and Wales, to ensure that everyone feels and is safe when travelling.
Last month, the Department and Greater Manchester Combined Authority jointly hosted a Safer Streets, Safer Transport Summit which brought together representatives from across the transport industry, Government, local authorities, the third sector and policing to commit to taking action against anti-social behaviour (ASB) and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
As part of the Government’s aims to reduce VAWG by half over the next decade, the Department has an ambitious, evidence-based programme of work to help tackle VAWG on transport. This includes measures in the Bus Services Act 2025 such as training on how to recognise and respond to incidents of criminal and ASB. The Act also enables all Local Transport Authorities to introduce byelaws to tackle ASB on vehicles, as well as within and at bus-related infrastructure (for example bus stations).
On the rail network, DfT and the BTP are committed to working closely with Train Operating Companies to ensure our railways are safe, reliable, and efficient for all passengers, staff, and communities. This includes tackling ASB that might annoy, frighten, intimidate, or otherwise upset other people.
The Department supports BTP’s zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment and sexual offences. This includes using a range of policing techniques to pursue offenders on the rail network to ensure it remains a safe environment and encourage reporting of incidents via BTP’s 61016 text number or 999 in an emergency.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with relevant stakeholders on tackling harassment on public transport against women and girls in the North East.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department is working across government and with partners, including the British Transport Police (BTP), the transport industry and local authorities to ensure that everyone feels and is safe when travelling. And, as part of that, I meet with a range of stakeholders from across the country to discuss issues across my portfolio, including the safety of women and girls on public transport.
Last month, the Department and Greater Manchester Combined Authority jointly hosted a Safer Streets, Safer Transport Summit which brought together representatives from across the transport industry, Government, local authorities (including the North East Combined Authority), the third sector and policing to commit to taking action against anti-social behaviour (ASB) and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
As part of the Government’s aims to reduce VAWG by half over the next decade, the Department has an ambitious, evidence-based programme of work to help tackle VAWG on transport. This includes measures in the Bus Services Act 2025 such as training on how to recognise and respond to incidents of criminal and anti-social behaviour. The Act also enables all Local Transport Authorities to introduce byelaws to tackle ASB on vehicles, as well as within and at bus-related infrastructure (for example bus stations).
The Department supports BTP’s zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment and sexual offences. This includes using a range of policing techniques to pursue offenders on the rail network to ensure it remains a safe environment and encourage reporting of incidents via BTP’s 61016 text number or 999 in an emergency.
BTP officers in the North East attend the local Safer Transport Regional Group and the Violence Against Women and Girls on Transport Partnership Working Group, strengthening collaboration with partners and focusing joint efforts on preventing these offences.
BTP also deliver numerous public campaigns to increase VAWG reporting across the network including in the North East. The Rail Delivery Group also delivers its ‘zero tolerance’ campaign, which is aimed at educating people about the different types of sexual harassment and encouraging reporting to the BTP or anonymously to crime stoppers.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) school-aged girls and (b) young women can access help on public transport if they are concerned for their safety.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is committed to ensuring everyone, including women and girls, is safe on the transport network. As part of our aim to reduce Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) by half over the next decade, we have an ambitious, evidence-based programme to help tackle VAWG on transport. This includes proposals in the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill, such as staff training on how to recognise and respond to incidents of criminal and anti-social behaviour.
The Department is also working across government and with partners, including the British Transport Police (BTP), the transport industry and local authorities, to ensure that everyone feels and is safe when travelling.
For example, in line with their zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment and sexual offences on the railway, the BTP deploy a range of policing techniques to pursue offenders on the rail network to ensure it remains a safe environment and encourage reporting of incidents via the 61016-text number or 999 in an emergency. They also have a range of innovative awareness campaigns to encourage reporting and bystander intervention in response to sexual offences. This includes the successful ‘Speak Up Interrupt’, encouraging bystanders to support or intervene to help victims.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she has taken to work with relevant authorities to reduce instances of sexual offences on public transport in (a) England and (b) Romford.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is committed to ensuring everyone, including women and girls, is safe on the transport network. The Department is working across government and with partners, including the British Transport Police (BTP), the transport industry and local authorities to ensure that everyone feels and is safe when travelling.
As part of the Government’s aims to reduce Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) by half over the next decade, the Department has an ambitious, evidence-based programme of work to help tackle VAWG on transport. This includes proposals in the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill such as training on how to recognise and respond to incidents of criminal and anti-social behaviour.
The Department supports BTP’s zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment and sexual offences. This includes using a range of policing techniques to pursue offenders on the rail network to ensure it remains a safe environment and encourage reporting of incidents via BTP’s 61016 text number or 999 in an emergency. Romford is currently part of Operation Cerium which sees proactive patrols from BTP officers across the underground and rail network in London to reduce the number of sexual offences and identify offenders swiftly.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what emergency plans (a) her Department and (b) Network Rail has made for future extreme weather events.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department requires Train Operating Companies and Network Rail to put in place measures to avoid, where possible, the potential impact of disruption including as a result of weather.
Network Rail owns and is responsible for maintaining railway infrastructure to ensure passenger and freight services operate safely. Officials hold regular discussions with Network Rail and industry to ensure severe weather preparedness plans are in place with clear mitigations to reduce the impacts of weather on punctuality and reliability.
Network Rail Routes liaise closely with Train Operators to ensure comprehensive checklists are in place and to align customer messaging. Extreme Weather Action Telecons (EWATs) are stood up in anticipation of adverse or extreme weather conditions likely to impact upon rail networks, attended by Network Rail, British Transport Police, the Rail Delivery Group, train operators and the Department. EWATs coordinate the response to severe weather, for example by prepositioning people, equipment, assets to at-risk areas and implementing speed restrictions and emergency timetables where appropriate. Where services need to be cancelled, train operators will seek to provide alternative transport where possible, although there may be instances where this is not viable.
Asked by: Peter Fortune (Conservative - Bromley and Biggin Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she has taken to encourage bus and train operators to reduce levels of disability hate crime on their services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government believes that everyone should be able to make journeys on public transport services without fearing that they will become a victim of crime. It is especially concerning that people should experience disability hate crime whilst using buses and trains, and operators must do all they can to challenge such unacceptable behaviour in partnership with relevant authorities.
We introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill which focuses on delivering safe, more reliable bus networks. The Bill sets requirements for mandatory training on how to recognise and respond appropriately to incidents of criminal and anti-social behaviour, on buses for staff, including drivers and those who deal directly with the travelling public or with issues related to the travelling public. This Bill will also extend requirements for relevant bus staff to undertake training relating to disabled passengers.
Provisions in the Bus Services (No 2) Bill would also give all local transport authorities the power to make bus byelaws, which can be enforced by local authority officers on vehicles and at bus stations and stops. This, combined with targeted enforcement, should lead to safer networks. Transport Safety Officers or Transport Safety and Enforcement Officers are also already operating in some areas, including those participating in the Department’s Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour on Transport pilots.
The British Transport Police (BTP) are responsible for policing the rail network in England, Scotland and Wales. They take any reports of crime seriously, including disability hate crimes. The BTP works closely with the rail industry, including train operators, to target offenders across the network and ensure it remains a safe environment for passengers and rail staff. The BTP encourage crime to be reported via it is 61016 text number or in an emergency to call 999.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) prevent (i) serious delays and (ii) cancellations and (b) provide adequate alternate travel provisions when weather conditions cause severe disruptions in the North West.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department requires train operating companies and Network Rail to put in place measures to avoid, where possible, the potential impact of disruption including as a result of weather.
Network Rail owns and is responsible for maintaining railway infrastructure to ensure passenger and freight services operate safely. Officials hold regular discussions with Network Rail and industry to ensure severe weather preparedness plans are in place with clear mitigations to reduce the impacts of weather on punctuality and reliability. Network Rail Routes liaise closely with train operators to ensure comprehensive checklists are in place and to align customer messaging. Extreme Weather Action Telecons (EWATs) are stood up in anticipation of adverse or extreme weather conditions likely to impact upon rail networks, attended by Network Rail, British Transport Police, the Rail Delivery Group, train operators and the Department. EWATs coordinate the response to severe weather, for example by prepositioning people, equipment, assets to at-risk areas and implementing speed restrictions and emergency timetables where appropriate. Where services need to be cancelled, train operators will seek to provide alternative transport where possible, although there may be instances where this is not viable.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help reduce the number of violent attacks on women and girls on rail services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This government has set out its mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade and will treat this work as a national emergency.
No one should ever have to face the risk of violence or harassment when travelling on our transport networks.
We are taking action to make sure women and girls in particular feel safe on our transport network. We work closely with railway partners, including the British Transport Police (BTP), to achieve this. BTP utilises specialist teams of plain clothed and uniformed officers across the network to target and identify offenders. It uses enhanced patrols, with a directed, intelligence-led focus around the nighttime economy, providing high-visibility presence to reassure rail staff and the public.
Current public campaigns and support tools include the National Rail ‘Zero Tolerance’ campaign aimed at ending sexual harassment and BTP’s Railway Guardian app, which provides safety advice, links to partner organisations and enables reporting of incidents to the force directly. Previous public awareness campaigns have included using real victim stories to encourage more members of the public to come forward and report incidents of sexual harassment to the force.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with rail service providers on tackling anti-social behaviour on railway services in (a) Enfield North Constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield, and (c) London.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) on the rail network in London and throughout the country is a top priority for the British Transport Police (BTP).
Where ASB hotspots have been identified, BTP implements Problem-solving Plans (PSPs) in partnership with its policing and non-policing partners which target their resources and activity to deal with local issues of concern.
Problem Solving Plans are a structured method used to understand the nature and causes of problems that affect communities and take preventative action in collaboration with partners and stakeholders. The focus is on getting to the root of the problem, identifying who can help (both within and outside of policing) and working together from the outset, along with thinking creatively on how to solve a problem.
Problem-solving Plans currently in place in London include (but are not limited to) Finsbury Park, Croydon, and Victoria.
Enfield is not in BTP’s top crime locations for ASB so there is no bespoke Problem-solving Plan in place, but BTP’s high visibility officers conduct on-board and station patrols in the local area to reassure passengers and staff, while deterring those who would engage in criminal behaviour.
If passengers see or experience ASB on the rail network, in Enfield, London or across the country they should report this to BTP using their text 61016 service or via the Railway Guardian app. In an emergency, they should always call 999.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to work with rail service providers to help tackle (a) antisocial behaviour and (b) sexual assault on rail services in (i) England and (ii) Romford constituency.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Every rail operator that manages stations has an obligation to obtain and maintain Secure Stations Accreditation, assessed by the British Transport Police (BTP), for a number of their stations. The scheme requires operators to demonstrate that a station is designed and operated in a safe and secure way, considering issues such as lighting, CCTV and signage.
Operators are also required to obtain and maintain accreditation to the Safeguarding on Rail Scheme, again assessed independently by the BTP. The scheme requires operators to demonstrate how they are actively supporting vulnerable people on their network.
The Department for Transport is funding a pilot scheme in Essex where Thurrock Council, working with other local authorities and the BTP, will be using Transport Safety Officers to help tackle anti-social behaviour on and around the rail network.
The Department also supports the Rail Delivery Group ‘Zero Tolerance’ campaign against sexual harassment on the railway. The campaign informs people of the action they can take to report sexual harassment if they witness it and thereby help to combat it. A dedicated CrimeStoppers line is in operation for all those who wish to report anonymously.
The BTP will investigate every report of sexual harassment on the railway; incidents can be reported to BTP via text on 61016, via the Railway Guardian App, online, or in an emergency by dialling 999.