I refer Members to my own declaration of interest in terms of property ownership.

Now, all the way through, I know that the Welsh Labour Government started off by wanting to tackle the shortage of affordable homes in our communities, and it's fair to say that this group actually supports that endeavour. However, I have been very concerned, and I'm not alone; people within my own community and other communities across Wales have been corresponding with me, and they've now said that the slant has been directed in the wrong direction, because it's now seen to be, 'Let's go after people with second homes; let's go after people with holiday lets.'

Reading this report, alarm bells should be ringing for all of us who rely on tourism, when recommendation 4 says,

'The Welsh Government should commission further research on the impact tourism has on the sustainability of communities.'

Interestingly, the Home Owners of Wales Group suggested that second home owners contribute £235 million per year to the Welsh economy. Barmouth Town Council is critical of Dr Brooks's report, commenting that,

'There is no data in the report into the economic impact of holiday lets.' 

The UK Short Term Accommodation Association has highlighted the economic contribution of short-term lets, referring to a study by Oxford Economics on behalf of Airbnb, which estimated that guests using the platform had contributed a total of £107 million to the Welsh economy in 2019.

But, let me say here and now that there's a big difference between second homes, Airbnb properties and bona fide holiday lets. As the committee report states,

'We realise that there is insufficient data on the benefits brought by tourism compared to the detrimental impact of affected communities'.

Tourism is one—. I shouldn't have to tell you this, but tourism is one of the most fundamental economic backbones of Wales. In some constituencies, it’s the only industry. Plaid Cymru and you seem to have launched a major policy and legislative attack on the sector in an effort to try and justify why we haven’t had the houses built over the last 23 years.

You’ve accepted recommendation 1, requiring the Welsh Government to consider a definition of second homes, and pointed towards the introduction of three new planning classes: C3, primary homes; C5, secondary homes; and C6, short-term lets. However, there is a loophole that could undermine this. Anybody now living in Manchester could legitimately state that his house in Aberconwy is his primary home, and that his house in Manchester is his second home. So, bingo—it won’t affect him at all. So that means there are ways around this.

I do welcome the acceptance of recommendations 2 and 14 that we will now, Minister, be receiving six-monthly updates. I believe that what residents in Dwyfor and other crisis communities want to see is a good number of affordable homes available to buy and rent. Does this pilot achieve it? No.

The committee is right in recommendation 9, and I’ve said it several times, that the Welsh Government should lead by example, ensuring that land that you own, public land—. And you’ve got lots of land within the health boards, the local authorities—[Interruption.] Sorry—anyway, you can respond. Why they are not being put forward as suitable for development, I’ve no idea.

Gwynedd—let’s take Gwynedd. Why are we not ensuring that land on the edge of crisis communities like Nefyn is allocated in the LDP for social and affordable housing? Why are we not allowing our registered social landlords and good, functioning housing associations, like my colleague Sam Rowlands will know—? Cartrefi Conwy in Aberconwy: actually brilliant housing providers and they actually want to be able to build new houses for people. Consequently, the Welsh Conservatives would not only see new homes built for locals, but we would have a strong mechanism in place that means that we can hang on to our younger generations, because the lack of housing is one reason why people actually move out of the area.

I read with some despair your response to recommendation 10. Of course, the Welsh Government should work with, not against, private sector landlords and letting agents, but rather than referring to leasing scheme Wales as a sign of co-operation, we now need, Minister—. We have got an issue of this Government’s making in terms of what’s happening with second homes, and the threat of a 300 per cent council tax levy.

Just in the last month, I’ve been made aware in my own constituency of 51 section 1 eviction notices served. Now, this is a constituency that’s already seeing a temporary accommodation spend, so 51 families now are going to be displaced. So, we really do need to get down to the basics of what is a second home, acknowledge the value they bring, and bear in mind this isn’t just people coming in from England—I know people who have properties in Pembroke and have one over here. When they come into my constituency, they use our hairdressers, they use our gardeners—