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Committee publication · Correspondence · 10 June 2026

Letter to the Secretary of State for Transport relating to violence against women and girls, dated 12 May 2026

From: Transport Committee

Summary

The Transport Committee chair writes to the Secretary of State for Transport requesting detailed information on how the Department intends to deliver commitments in the December 2025 Freedom from Violence and Abuse cross-government strategy. The strategy aims to halve violence against women and girls within a decade and includes transport-specific measures on CCTV connectivity, rail station accreditation, and bus network expansion.

Key findings

  • The Freedom from Violence and Abuse strategy, published December 2025, sets goals to improve safety of women and girls in transport including CCTV connectivity at train stations, review of Secure Stations scheme, and CCTV expansion on buses
  • The Department for Transport's Better Connected strategy references the Freedom from Violence and Abuse Action Plan commitments, but the committee seeks more detailed understanding of delivery mechanisms
  • The committee requests clarity on which commitments fall under DfT responsibility, the role of DfT-related bodies (British Transport Police, Office of Rail and Road, Network Rail, Transport Focus), and involvement of Great British Railways when established
  • The committee asks for timeframes, milestone targets, baseline assessments, stakeholder engagement details, governance arrangements, and progress updates for each commitment by 5 June 2026

Tone

Procedural

Topics

violence-against-women-and-girlstransport-safetypublic-safetyrail-transportbus-transport

Key actors

Ruth Cadbury MP, Heidi Alexander MP, Department for Transport, British Transport Police, Office of Rail and Road, Network Rail, Transport Focus, Great British Railways

Notable line

“The Strategy represents an important milestone in setting out how the Government intends to halve violence against women and girls within a decade and provides a significant …”

Key Quotes

“The Strategy represents an important milestone in setting out how the Government intends to halve violence against women and girls within a decade and provides a significant opportunity to strengthen protection and support for victims and survivors.”
— Ruth Cadbury MP · on the Freedom from Violence and Abuse strategy
“This information will enable the Transport Committee to begin assessing your Department's contribution to the important cross-government goal of halving violence against women and girls within a decade.”
— Ruth Cadbury MP · explaining the purpose of the information request
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Source · parliament.uk record ↗