Cash payments and Avanti West Coast catering services

That this House notes with concern reports that rail operator Avanti West Coast is proposing to withdraw cash as an accepted payment method for its catering services from March 2024; expresses concern about the impact of this decision on people who rely on, or prefer to use, cash; further notes that over one million people in the UK do not have access to a bank account and that people on lower incomes are disproportionately more likely to be unbanked; also notes reports from the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers that withdrawing cash from catering services could put jobs involving cash handling at risk; understands that, since Avanti took on the franchise, net staff numbers have reduced by 200; believes that the withdrawal of cash sales from the catering service would further worsen the travel experience for Avanti passengers, who continue to be faced with delays, cancellations and disruption; and therefore calls on the Department for Transport, which manages the franchise, to instruct Avanti West Coast to scrap its proposals to withdraw cash from catering services.