M48 Severn Bridge

That this House recognises the importance of the M48 Severn Bridge to businesses, hauliers, farmers and communities on both sides of the Severn estuary; notes with concern the weight restriction imposed by National Highways following the discovery of deterioration in the bridge's main suspension cables, and the consequent disruption to the local economy, the haulage industry and farmers whose land straddles the estuary; acknowledges that a permanent engineering solution is estimated to cost in excess of 600 million pounds and cannot be accommodated within the existing budget of National Highways; and calls on the Government, given the economic significance of this crossing to Wales, the south west of England and the wider United Kingdom, to commit the funding necessary to deliver a permanent solution and to secure the long term future of the bridge.