Madam,

Dr Goodyear states that it is naïve to connect young people’s difficulties in purchasing a first home in a market distorted by house prices which reflect social inequality rather than the basic human need for a home and shelter.

I disagree with her in principle, but am, nonetheless, always interested to learn more about measures proposed in other countries, such as Canada, or other legislatures beside Wales.

I would, however, beg her to consider how a county like Gwynedd, which has the highest number of second homes of any area in the UK, might help young people today, rather than procrastinate to an alternative solution.

There are 5,000 second homes in Gwynedd, an increasing number of whose owners are choosing tax avoidance with the direct effect of denying public funds to those vulnerable communities in which they enjoy their properties. Welsh Government and Cyngor Gwynedd have sought to make best use of Housing Act (Wales) 2016 to increase public funding through the 50 per cent council tax premium.

The intention is to use some of the revenue raised to enable young people to acquire their first home. Since 2018-19 is the first year in which this premium has been levied, I look forward to learning more about whether it is achieving councillors’ objectives to support first-time home-owners and also to a review of its implementation by the council.

In the meantime, I would draw attention to work done by my colleague Sian Gwenllian, AM for Arfon, who last month successfully put pressure on the Labour government in Cardiff to take steps to correct the present anomaly whereby second-home owners can be exempted from paying either council tax or business rates on their properties.

Yours etc,

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