Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on the (a) civil and (b) criminal penalties for avoidance of paying the second homes council tax premium.

Councils have a range of powers available to them to recover any type of unpaid council tax, including council tax premiums. The government has recently consulted on modernising and improving the administration of council tax which seeks views on how council tax is collected and enforced. The government will publish its response to the consultation in due course.