Violence against Women and Girls

The Government hold regular discussions with the Welsh Government on tackling violence against women and girls to help drive forward the Government’s ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Most recently, on 13 November, the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), who has responsibility for safeguarding, met the Welsh Minister for Social Care and the Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice. They discussed in detail measures to tackle violence against women and girls.

The safety of women and girls is as important in Newcastle-under-Lyme as it is up and down our United Kingdom. The Welsh Government have had a violence against women and girls strategy since 2022. Sadly, the previous UK Government did not have one for my constituents in England. What lessons can the new Government learn from the Welsh Labour Government on keeping our women and girls safe?

As my hon. Friend says, the Welsh Government’s violence against women and girls strategy has been pioneering delivery on that important issue for two years now. The UK Government’s aim of halving violence against women and girls in a decade is ambitious, and learning lessons from the Welsh Government will help. As part of their long-standing commitment to tackling violence against women and girls, South Wales police have introduced new measures, including the Cardiff safety buses, which have received national recognition for safeguarding more than 3,000 vulnerable people on the streets of Cardiff since September 2021.

I call Jim Shannon.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hear, hear! [Interruption.] Go on, Jim!

Do you always have the last question before Prime Minister’s questions deliberately, Jim?

It is up to you, Mr Speaker, but you always call me; you are very kind. Thank you. Tackling violence against women and girls can be done regionally, but is it not time to do it on a national level, with England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland working together?

Absolutely; that is central to our manifesto. Our commitments will take in the whole of the UK—particularly the Home Office commitments on policing, and the commitments in the legislation that we intend to bring forward.