On the other hand, my surgeries in my constituency are full of people who live in unacceptable conditions, in private rented sector homes that are damp, too small or difficult to heat, leading to fuel poverty. Families have to share their homes with parents, other relatives or friends. There is a major problem here. There is a fundamental unfairness in a situation where 2,000 people live in unacceptable conditions while second home owners are playing the system for their own benefit and avoiding paying council tax. A total of £1.7 million per year is lost in Gwynedd alone, as well as the premium, because of this, and that money could be very useful in the council coffers, money that could contribute to the building of appropriate housing for people in the county.

You could argue, by letting this happen, that the Welsh Government is putting money in the pockets of second home owners rather than using the funding to improve the lives of local people. It's vital that we do solve this problem. In my mind, the easiest, simplest and most transparent solution is to adapt section 66 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988. The Welsh Government has the power to do that by amending the criteria for self-catering units, as described in section 66. The principle could be established that all properties that are used as domestic properties continue to be domestic properties, even if they're used occasionally to raise additional income for the owner. Making that change would get rid of that loophole and that wouldn't affect self-catering commercial properties and tourism businesses because they're not part of section 66 of this Act. That's the easy solution, in my opinion. I'm looking forward to hearing whether the Minister agrees with that.

This afternoon, we'll also be discussing the problem of second homes more generally, and Llyr Gruffydd will expand on that. It is possible to use the planning system to tackle the increasing problem of second homes in our communities and the way that local people are priced out of the housing market locally. It is possible, for example, to use new categories within the planning system and define the term 'residential' to include the category of 'second home', and you can legislate that planning permission or planning consent are needed to change the use to a second home. That would give local authorities an opportunity to maintain a better balance within communities.

We need to do much more to help families who are being priced out of the market because of the increasing number of second homes, and I am pleased to know that Gwynedd Council is doing detailed research to find solutions to the stress that second homes are placing on local communities. But, in the meantime, what about getting rid of the scandal that arises in the wake of section 66 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, and doing that once and for all? The Welsh Local Government Association agrees with Plaid Cymru on this, under the leadership of the rural affairs forum, which includes nine Welsh councils. And Jeremy Corbyn has announced plans to impose a new levy on second homes that would mean that owners would pay twice as much council tax. He says, and I quote: