Calculating the amount raised by Gwynedd Council by levying additional council tax premium on second home owners and owners of empty properties
Dear Gwynedd Council,
During the meeting of the full council on 8th December 2016, when it decided to impose a council tax premium on second homes and empty properties, the council resolved to "use a percentage of the money received from charging a premium to provide housing for the young people of our communities."
It was also noted in the report available to councillors at that meeting that "The Welsh Government has introduced a series of technical amendments to regulations relating to the setting of the Council Tax base in order to allow local authorities to retain the additional income received, without adversely affecting the annual settlement."
The inference therefore being that any additional premium raised would be 'ring fenced' or, at the very least, accounted for in some way for the benefit of the wider community and its specific housing-related needs.
Please therefore confirm the following:
1. The exact figure (to the nearest £1,000) that Gwynedd Council raised from levying the additional council tax premium for financial years 2018/19, 2019/20 and 20/21?
2. What exact percentage was retained by Gwynedd Council from the additional council tax premium and subsequently utilised to provide housing specifically for "the young people of our communities" for financial years 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21? Please provide a breakdown of the percentage applicable for each financial year separately.
3. How many new units of accommodation did Gwynedd Council create for "the young people of our communities" during the financial years of 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21? Please provide a breakdown of the numbers of units created for each financial year separately.
4. Please provide a comprehensive financial breakdown of how the additional council tax premium has been utilised by Gwynedd Council for each financial year from 2018/19 to 2020/21 and the type and number of units of accommodation that it has created/built/reinstated with the premiums received. Again, please provide a breakdown on a year by year basis.
Yours faithfully,
Sarah E
Rhyddid Gwybodaeth / Freedom of Information
Dear Sarah E,
Freedom of Information (ref 614)
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 614.
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
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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.
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
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1. mailto:[email address].cymru
Dear Gwynedd Council,
I will now be referring this to the Information Commissioner as you have failed to respond to my request.
Yours faithfully,
Sarah Ellis
Rhyddid Gwybodaeth / Freedom of Information
Dear Sarah E,
Freedom of Information (ref 614)
Thank you for your recent request. Please see below for the information
requested:
1. The exact figure (to the nearest £1,000) that Gwynedd Council raised
from levying the additional council tax premium for financial years
2018/19, 2019/20 and 20/21? Please see attached document.
2. What exact percentage was retained by Gwynedd Council from the
additional council tax premium and subsequently utilised to provide
housing specifically for "the young people of our communities" for
financial years 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21? Please provide a breakdown
of the percentage applicable for each financial year separately. - Please
see attached document.
3. How many new units of accommodation did Gwynedd Council create for "the
young people of our communities" during the financial years of 2018/19,
2019/20 and 2020/21? Please provide a breakdown of the numbers of units
created for each financial year separately.
As your reference to "the young people of our communities" is unclear in
relation to what could be included in our response, I enclose a link to a
recent report to Gwynedd Council [1]Care Scrutiny Committee providing an
update on the progress of the Housing Action Plan.
4. Please provide a comprehensive financial breakdown of how the
additional council tax premium has been utilised by Gwynedd Council for
each financial year from 2018/19 to 2020/21 and the type and number of
units of accommodation that it has created/built/reinstated with the
premiums received. Again, please provide a breakdown on a year by year
basis.
Due to the nature of the development programmes and that the Housing
Action Plan has only recently been adopted, many schemes are at an early
stage of development. The monies received in 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21
will be used to deliver projects included in the Housing Action Plan
(2020-2027) over several years. The link to the Housing Action Plan is
provided in the previous answer.
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
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may ask for an internal review. Please contact me if you require an
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If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
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decision. Please see below for the contact details:
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Telephone: 02920 678400
Email: [2][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.
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://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/doc...
2. mailto:[email address]
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