Catering services and jobs on South Western Railway

That this House notes that South Western Railway (SWR) has terminated its on-board catering contract with Elior and that this decision puts over 130 catering workers at risk of being made redundant in January 2021; believes that the Job Retention Scheme, which is in operation until March 2021, should have been used to protect these jobs in the short term; is concerned that this decision will lead to the removal of catering services across the SWR network; believes that this will be detrimental to passengers and that the provision of on-board catering services must be protected across the network as part of rail’s recovery from the covid-19 pandemic; notes that the cuts to catering are being made despite the SWR franchise being fully funded by the Government through an Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement (ERMA); further notes that the ERMA pays SWR a fee which can be used to fund profits and make dividend payments; and therefore calls on the Government to intervene to ensure this catering service and all at-risk jobs are protected.