§ Norman LambTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will estimate the total revenue which would be raised by local authorities as a result of a change in law requiring second home owners to pay the full council tax at current levels, broken down by local authority area [6362]
§ Dr. WhiteheadSecond home owners are presently entitled to a 50 per cent. council tax discount. If all had been required to pay the full council tax in 2001–02, we estimate that an additional amount of approximately £80 million would have been raised. Accurate figures for individual local authority areas are not available.
In the Rural White Paper, we said that we would consult on giving local authorities discretion to remove or reduce the 50 per cent. council tax discount for second home owners. We will also consult on giving local authorities discretion to remove or reduce the 50 per cent. discount for long-term empty properties.