Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:18 pm on 6 July 2022.
Well, as I said, average occupancy has exceeded 50 per cent over the three years prior to the pandemic, so many of those businesses are reaching that threshold, and I've already mentioned the point about the regulation system, which will help push tourists and visitors towards those established businesses and away from the more casual end of the market, which is having an impact, I think, on businesses.
Of course, there will be a number of possible behavioural changes that will occur amongst owners of second homes and self-catering accommodation in response to the changes, and of course it's for individual owners to consider the approach that they take. But, and a number of colleagues have referred to this, I do recognise that some self-catering properties are restricted by planning conditions that prevent the permanent occupation as somebody's main residence. An exception from a council tax premium already is provided for one type of planning condition and, as I've said many times now in this Chamber, I'm exploring whether an exception should apply to other planning conditions. My intention is that any necessary changes are brought in with effect from 1 April 2023, alongside the increased thresholds.