§ Mr. Gowerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has now completed his review of tolls on the Severn Bridge; and when he expects to publish his conclusions and proposals.
§ Mr. SpeedMy right hon. Friend has now concluded his review. He proposes to retain the 12p toll for all vehicles other than motor-cycles, and the 5p toll for motor-cycles. This accords with the findings of the review, which indicated that while no increase is necessary any general reduction would result in a shortfall of revenue over the 40-year toll period. It should be possible to hold the toll at 12p in the foreseeable future. He proposes however, as an experiment initially for two years, to make available to regular users books of 12p tickets at a discount of approximately 10 per cent.