Local Taxes

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:17 pm on 15 September 2021.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 2:17, 15 September 2021

First of all, I'd like to begin by recognising the tremendous importance of the tourism sector to many parts of Wales. It's the absolute lifeblood of many communities and we want to be sure that we provide everybody with a warm welcome when they come to visit us in Wales, so that they want to come back, and do so year after year. I also think it's important that we see seek to have balanced communities, so communities where people can, as I've said in this session already, remain in their communities and find an affordable home, but also in communities where tourism is really important that we're able to ensure that we have plenty of offer for those tourists as well. So, it's a difficult balance, but I think some of the work that we're doing around the pilot work, looking for communities to work with us there will be important, because all communities are unique in so many ways.

Private landlords do have an important part to play in terms of our housing stock in here in Wales. It's a positive choice for people who want to rent and we've done good work in the past years in terms of Rent Smart Wales and the work that we've done there to try and ensure that the offer from private landlords is a quality offer for individuals here in Wales, and to ensure that that sector does provide a really important and useful part of the housing options for people for whom renting is the right choice. It is a positive choice for many people, so we need to ensure that it's a good experience for them.