Rhyddid Gwybodaeth / Freedom of Information

Dear Sarah Ellis,

Freedom of Information (ref 615)

Thank you for your recent request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000.

Your request has been passed to me to process and I can confirm that it
has been logged under the reference number 615.

The Council may take up to 20 working days, from the date of receipt, to
respond to your request. You should therefore receive the information you
have requested, subject to the application of any exemptions permitted
under the Act, by 21/02/2022. If you require further information please
contact me by phone on 01286 679468 or by emailing
[1][email address].cymru by quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely,
Gwawr Owen

-------------------------------------------------------------
Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiad iddo yn gyfrinachol ac fe'i bwriedir ar
gyfer y sawl a enwir arno yn unig. Gall gynnwys gwybodaeth freintiedig. Os
yw wedi eich cyrraedd trwy gamgymeriad ni ellwch ei gopio, ei ddosbarthu
na'i ddangos i unrhyw un arall a dylech gysylltu â'r anfonwr ar unwaith.
Mae unrhyw gynnwys nad yw'n ymwneud â busnes swyddogol y corff sy'n anfon
yr e-bost yn bersonol i'r awdur.

Gall cynnwys yr e-bost hwn gael ei ddatgelu yn unol â gofynion
deddfwriaeth mewn perthynas â prosesu a rheoli data, sydd yn cynnwys y
GDPR, Deddf Diogelu Data 2018 a Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000.

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Arbedwch bapur, ynni ac arian - Peidiwch argraffu'r neges yma oni bai ei
bod yn hollol angenrheidiol.
Save paper, energy and money - Do not print this message unless it is
absolutely necessary.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address].cymru

Rhyddid Gwybodaeth / Freedom of Information

Dear Sarah Ellis,

Freedom of Information (ref 615)

Thank you for your recent request. Please see below for the information
requested:

For Questions 1 & 2 the details are published on the Stats Wales website:
[1]https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/L...

In year figures are subject to Regulation 31(1)(d) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000
[2]https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/200... .

The principle reason being practical, the lists are live, being adjusted
daily and subject to fluctuation, the process of extracting an agreed.
reliable figure is done on an annual basis and published. 

The Valuation Office Agency (part of the Inland Revenue) compiles and
maintains the local taxation lists, Council Tax and Non Domestic Rates.

The decision to bring properties on to either list and to move certain
properties between lists, also for what reason, is at their discretion an
application for data on these questions will need to be submitted to them.

The disclosed information may contain copyright material, and
notwithstanding Gwynedd Council’s disclosure the document may still be
copyright protected. It is important for you to respect any copyright
status that may attach to a particular document.  Fair dealing provisions
allow information to be used in certain ways without infringing copyright.
This allows the contents to be debated publicly. Fair dealing allows
disclosure to serve the public interest of increasing accountability and
transparency. Of particular importance is the provision which allows the
criticism, review or news reporting of copyright information. 

A detailed account of the provisions may be found in the Guidance Note
20201023 “Intellectual property rights and disclosures under the FOIA” on
the Information Commissioner’s website

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the way the Council has handled your request, you
may ask for an internal review. Please contact me if you require an
internal review of your case. An internal review will be conducted by the
Monitoring Officer or Head of Service and we will aim to respond within 20
working days. However, if we are unable to complete the review by this
date, we will advise you accordingly.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. Please see below for the contact details:

Information Commissioner’s Office

2^nd Floor

Churchill House

Churchill Way

Cardiff

CF102HH

Telephone: 02920 678400

Email: [3][email address]

Fax: 02920 678399

Yours sincerely,
Gwawr Owen

-------------------------------------------------------------
Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiad iddo yn gyfrinachol ac fe'i bwriedir ar
gyfer y sawl a enwir arno yn unig. Gall gynnwys gwybodaeth freintiedig. Os
yw wedi eich cyrraedd trwy gamgymeriad ni ellwch ei gopio, ei ddosbarthu
na'i ddangos i unrhyw un arall a dylech gysylltu â'r anfonwr ar unwaith.
Mae unrhyw gynnwys nad yw'n ymwneud â busnes swyddogol y corff sy'n anfon
yr e-bost yn bersonol i'r awdur.

Gall cynnwys yr e-bost hwn gael ei ddatgelu yn unol â gofynion
deddfwriaeth mewn perthynas â prosesu a rheoli data, sydd yn cynnwys y
GDPR, Deddf Diogelu Data 2018 a Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000.

show quoted sections

Arbedwch bapur, ynni ac arian - Peidiwch argraffu'r neges yma oni bai ei
bod yn hollol angenrheidiol.
Save paper, energy and money - Do not print this message unless it is
absolutely necessary.

References

Visible links
1. https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/L...
2. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/200...
3. mailto:[email address]

Dear Mr Ellis,

The data is available on the stats Wales website, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires us to disclose available data not to create additional information or to comment on it.

One point I would stress that 'second homes' is a colloquialism, the correct classification is 'furnished property where no one has their sole or main residence', the category covers a far wider class of property than 'second homes'.

Yours sincerely,
Gwawr Owen

-----Neges Wreiddiol/Original Message-----
Oddi wrth: Sarah Ellis <[FOI #825308 email]>
Anfonwyd: Dydd Llun, 31 Ionawr 2022 21:03
At: Rhyddid Gwybodaeth <[email address].cymru>
Pwnc: Re: Freedom of Information (ref 615)

Dear Rhyddid Gwybodaeth,

Thank you for your response. The statistical tables provided by the Welsh Government are a little confusing.

Can you therefore confirm that the number of second homes in Gwynedd subject to the 100% council tax premium have declined by over 20.6% between March 2021 (when the 100% premium was voted for by Gwynedd Council) and the financial year 22/23?

Can you also confirm that the number of second homes has reduced from 4,718 properties to 3,746 with 974 properties having been removed from the category of second homes to which the 100% council tax premium applies?

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Ellis

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Dear Mr Ellis,

Thank you for your email.

Our data is gathered and processed for Council Tax billing purposes in compliance with statutory requirements.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 allows interested parties to have access to existing data.
The data gathered is for Class B properties, 'furnished properties where no one has their sole or main residence' this category contains second homes, there is no way to segregate sub categories of property use within this Class.

Yours sincerely,

Gwawr Owen

-----Neges Wreiddiol/Original Message-----
Oddi wrth: Sarah Ellis <[FOI #825308 email]>
Anfonwyd: Dydd Llun, 14 Chwefror 2022 11:33
At: Rhyddid Gwybodaeth <[email address].cymru>
Pwnc: Re: ATB/RE: Freedom of Information (ref 615)

Dear Rhyddid Gwybodaeth,

According to the Executive Summary provided to the full Council at the meeting on 04.03.21 there were 4,718 Class B properties (second homes paying the additional council tax premium) and a further 1,130 properties categorised as being long-term empty in Gwynedd. In light of your previous response, please confirm how the figure of 4,718 Class B properties was reached.

Does that figure represent second homes or 'furnished property where no one has their sole or main residence'? If the latter, please identify exactly what categories of property that description includes.

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Ellis

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