Protecting Avanti West Coast Customer Resolutions jobs

That this House notes that the Train Operating Company Avanti West Coast is proposing to relocate staff from the Customer Resolutions Centre in Birmingham to the parent company, First Group’s contact centre in Sheffield, a distance of around 90 miles; understands that the distance between Birmingham and Sheffield makes it unlikely that staff will be able to transfer to the new location; is concerned that these proposals put 60 posts at risk of redundancy and could be damaging to the local economy in Birmingham; is aware that since March 2020, Avanti West Coast has been in receipt of public funding via an Emergency Measures Agreement and Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement; believes that Avanti West Coast should withdraw its proposals so that the jobs remain in Birmingham and all redundancies are avoided; and calls on the Government to ensure that future public funding for Avanti West Coast is dependent on it retaining all Customer Resolutions posts in Birmingham.