3. What assessment has the Counsel General made of the adequacy of the law to control second homes? OQ55731

There are already measures in place in Wales, both legislative and non-legislative, which affect the use of second homes. Any further steps would have implications across communities, housing, tourism, the economy, the Welsh Treasury and local government. We must take an evidence-based approach to deciding whether further legislation is required.

At the moment, there is no legal mechanism to prevent homes to be sold at very high prices and used as second homes. Plaid Cymru has published an action plan outlining the changes required to the law in planning and in finance to control the situation. Now, you may have heard of the establishment of the Hawl i Fyw Adra campaign by a group of young people on the Llŷn peninsula who can't buy homes in their own areas because of the unfair situation that exists. Now, playing on the words of Cynan about Aberdaron, the message that was shared over the weekend was, 'Cynan, there is no hope to buy a lonely cottage or any home near the wild waves of the sea', referring quite cleverly to the poet's famous ode. Do you believe, and agree, that urgent changes are required to the law to give young people the right to live in their communities? If so, what plans are you working on and when will we see those?

Well, may I thank Siân Gwenllian? I don't believe there are enough allusions to the work of such a famous bard here, and so I thank her for reminding us about Cynan's poem there. Of course, questions about changing the planning regime in this field are exceptionally complex; that is, the purpose of the planning legislation is to manage use rather than ownership. In my view, looking at the planning system without broader reform is not likely to achieve the aim the Member refers to.

From the point of view of funding, there are more funding powers available to local authorities than are actually being used by them. There are 25,000 second homes, more or less, that come within the local council tax regime, and only about 14,000 of those are charged the highest premium. So, we have greater scope to control this issue within the regulations that we have currently, and far more than is utilised at present. So, in looking at the specific legal challenges, there are a number of steps that need to be taken before we consider the broader platform of legislative reform, I would suggest.