Andrew George

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. As a result of tax changes, we have seen properties moving from holiday lets to second homes, and from second homes to holiday lets. It is relatively easy to move from the council tax register to the business rates register. Of course, the vast majority of holiday lets in places such as Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are owned by people who do not live there. They run the business through agents, and the vast majority of those who apply for small business rate relief end up paying nothing at all. They must have been joyous, and were no doubt popping champagne corks in whichever part of the country they live in—not Cornwall—when the Government announced in the Budget that they would increase the valuation that will be used for small business rate relief, from £12,000 to £18,000. That allows people who are wealthy enough to own a second property to use it for their own leisure purposes, to let it out for holiday purposes or to do both. That is the point, and a lot of holiday letting agents make this quite clear to those people with second homes, “You don’t like paying double council tax on your second home? Well, you can enjoy it and, in the weeks when you’re not using it, you can let it out.” I could give quotes. Certainly, if we look at all the agents’ sites, the advice is clearly there: they say that second homeowners can switch from council tax to business rates, apply for small business rate relief and pay nothing.