The Government are rightly focused on bus services, but can I urge them to also think carefully about safety in bus stations? We have a big problem at Skipton bus station at the moment and there is no CCTV. I encourage the Minister to focus on local authorities and mayors to get obligatory CCTV in our bus stations to keep people safe.

The Government are rightly focused on bus services, but can I urge them to also think carefully about safety in bus stations? We have a big problem at Skipton bus station at the moment and there is no CCTV. I encourage the Minister to focus on local authorities and mayors to get obligatory CCTV in our bus stations to keep people safe.

The Government have committed to a number of ideas to improve the safety of the travelling public, especially women and girls, and that includes looking at safety in bus stations. I will ensure that the particular issue the right hon. Gentleman raises is examined.

The Government have committed to a number of ideas to improve the safety of the travelling public, especially women and girls, and that includes looking at safety in bus stations. I will ensure that the particular issue the right hon. Gentleman raises is examined.

Motion that this House has considered the impact of planning on women's safety in rural areas. Agreed to on question. Sitting adjourned without Question put.

Motion that this House has considered the impact of planning on women's safety in rural areas. Agreed to on question. Sitting adjourned without Question put.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the impact of planning on women’s safety in rural areas.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I secured this debate because I think the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has made an oversight; I hope it...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the impact of planning on women’s safety in rural areas.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I secured this debate because I think the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has made an oversight; I hope it...

Will my hon. Friend join me in celebrating the work that Sergeant Roseanna Green does to address the challenges presented when planning overlooks women’s safety? Her Walk and Talk intervention pilot in Somerset allows women who are over 18 to go on a walk with a female police officer to...

Will my hon. Friend join me in celebrating the work that Sergeant Roseanna Green does to address the challenges presented when planning overlooks women’s safety? Her Walk and Talk intervention pilot in Somerset allows women who are over 18 to go on a walk with a female police officer to...

That sounds like an excellent scheme. We have a similar one in Frome that I commend to the House.

In rural areas, most of the questions I just asked do not even apply. There may not be street lighting, there are no taxis and, as in swathes of my constituency, there...

That sounds like an excellent scheme. We have a similar one in Frome that I commend to the House.

In rural areas, most of the questions I just asked do not even apply. There may not be street lighting, there are no taxis and, as in swathes of my constituency, there...

My hon. Friend talks about appropriate lighting. I am a keen cyclist, as are lots of women in rural areas, and 59% of women who cycle say they are really worried about their journeys and have huge safety concerns as a result. Last October, Langport cycling club took part in...

My hon. Friend talks about appropriate lighting. I am a keen cyclist, as are lots of women in rural areas, and 59% of women who cycle say they are really worried about their journeys and have huge safety concerns as a result. Last October, Langport cycling club took part in...

Certainly. That sounds excellent and I will come to lots of nerdy points about design guidance in due course.

My constituency of Frome and East Somerset is, by any measure, a beautiful part of England. It is also a place where the challenges I am describing are felt with particular intensity....

Certainly. That sounds excellent and I will come to lots of nerdy points about design guidance in due course.

My constituency of Frome and East Somerset is, by any measure, a beautiful part of England. It is also a place where the challenges I am describing are felt with particular intensity....

I commend the hon. Lady for securing the debate. In rural constituencies such as mine and the hon. Lady’s, large stretches of unlit roads, pathways and open land, often bordered by dark fields, can create a real sense of vulnerability. Does the hon. Lady agree that future developments or planning...

I commend the hon. Lady for securing the debate. In rural constituencies such as mine and the hon. Lady’s, large stretches of unlit roads, pathways and open land, often bordered by dark fields, can create a real sense of vulnerability. Does the hon. Lady agree that future developments or planning...

I absolutely agree with the hon. Member. I will talk about lighting in due course.

In her book “Invisible Women”, Caroline Criado-Perez documents how the built environment has historically been designed around a default that is male, and how data on street use, transport planning and public space has been gathered...

I absolutely agree with the hon. Member. I will talk about lighting in due course.

In her book “Invisible Women”, Caroline Criado-Perez documents how the built environment has historically been designed around a default that is male, and how data on street use, transport planning and public space has been gathered...

My hon. Friend is making a passionate speech about how we build in this country and the considerations we need to make. In my constituency, we have a large-scale development called Minerva Heights that was planned to be built in phases. Lighting down St Paul’s Road, which connects phase 1...

My hon. Friend is making a passionate speech about how we build in this country and the considerations we need to make. In my constituency, we have a large-scale development called Minerva Heights that was planned to be built in phases. Lighting down St Paul’s Road, which connects phase 1...

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. We need an infrastructure-first approach that also has women and girls’ safety in mind.

I hope with all sincerity that the MHCLG’s official view is not the one that was set out by whoever gave that comment to The Guardian. I hope the Labour...

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. We need an infrastructure-first approach that also has women and girls’ safety in mind.

I hope with all sincerity that the MHCLG’s official view is not the one that was set out by whoever gave that comment to The Guardian. I hope the Labour...

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine) on securing this debate and making a powerful, well evidenced and entirely reasonable case for women and girls’ interests to be taken better...

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine) on securing this debate and making a powerful, well evidenced and entirely reasonable case for women and girls’ interests to be taken better...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd, and to take part in this debate about the impact of planning on women’s safety in rural areas. Any concern about the safety of women and girls in their local communities is, of course, of real importance, and I...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd, and to take part in this debate about the impact of planning on women’s safety in rural areas. Any concern about the safety of women and girls in their local communities is, of course, of real importance, and I...

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Dowd. I congratulate the hon. Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine) on securing this debate, and I thank the other hon. Members who have participated this afternoon for their contributions. On the subject of the hon....

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Dowd. I congratulate the hon. Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine) on securing this debate, and I thank the other hon. Members who have participated this afternoon for their contributions. On the subject of the hon....

I thank the Minister for his constructive response. It always seems to me that the Government are blessed with many feisty and brilliant female politicians trying to make sure that VAWG is rightly pushed up the political agenda. Given that we live in an environment that historically has been largely...

I thank the Minister for his constructive response. It always seems to me that the Government are blessed with many feisty and brilliant female politicians trying to make sure that VAWG is rightly pushed up the political agenda. Given that we live in an environment that historically has been largely...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to require in-vehicle CCTV in licensed taxis and private hire vehicles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to require in-vehicle CCTV in licensed taxis and private hire vehicles.