Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the number of second homes that are (a) liable to pay council tax and (b) liable to pay business rates.

Second homes are liable for council tax rather than business rates. 253,000 properties were treated as second homes for council tax purposes as at September 2019. 56,000 properties that are available commercially as self-catering holiday accommodation are subject to business rates.