Welsh self-caterers were originally served by WASCO (Wales Association of Self-Catering Operators) and in 2019 PASC UK went into partnership with WASCO to provide them content for their newsletters. Sadly, by early 2020 WASCO had decided to cease charging Members subscriptions whilst the organisation tried to determine its future. With the arrival of the pandemic, support for the sector in Wales became critical, and it was agreed that PASC UK CYMRU would take over the role of supporting the sector in Wales.

If you are reading this and are new to PASC UK Cymru, you can sign up to a free weekly Newsletter on Thursdays at the bottom of this page.

This came into effect in January 2021 and opened the door for PASC UK to become full paid-up Members of the Wales Tourism Alliance (WTA), with whom we had already had a longstanding working partnership. Alistair Handyside, Executive Chair of PASC UK is an elected Member of the Board of the WTA.

PASC UK is an active partner in lobbying in Wales utilising its relationships with both the WTA and UK Hospitality Wales as well as many regional organisations.  

The massive onset of Welsh Government Consultations since 2021 into the self-catering sector has meant that this has been an incredibly busy time, as we work with others to try and head off the worst impacts of much of the proposed changes to legislation and taxation in Wales.

PASC UK has been investing and expanding in Wales, Nicky Williamson joined in early 2023 and has been leading on Welsh Policy ever since, backed by the rest of the team. See here: https://www.pascuk.co.uk/about-us/ 

Nicky has been a tourism professional all her working life, and has her own holiday let in North West Wales. With most of the PASC UK team being operators themselves gives better insights into both the challenges and the solutions faced by the sector.

This dedicated resource has really enabled PASC UK Cymru to extend its work with Cabinet Secretaries, MSs and Councillors, and to work more closely with Stakeholders, we have great partnership working with the Wales Tourism Alliance and UK Hospitality Cymru as well as many of the regional organisations that serve the wider visitor economy.

Currently the biggest threat remains around the letting threshold, currently set at 182 days. The recently announced 182 Consultation on the threshold and possible exemptions are welcome, but from our data, will still leave 65% of the sector left behind. That is why PASC UK Cymru is asking all that respond to the Consultation to respond saying that the proposed ‘modest reduction’ does not for far enough. We are arguing for a significant reduction that works for ‘all of Wales and all of the sector’.

You can find our 182 Threshold page here: https://www.pascuk.co.uk/182-2/

You can find our Paper on the Case for a 105 Day threshold here: https://www.pascuk.co.uk/reports/pasc-uk-the-case-for-105/

You can find our initial Guidance on responding to the 182 Consultation here: https://www.pascuk.co.uk/resources/consultation_responses/ and here https://www.pascuk.co.uk/your-membership-account/account/member-reports/

We are also deeply concerned about the impact of Tourism Levies, especially on rural and coastal areas, which are already seeing significant declines in overnight stays. PASC UK Cymru gave oral and written evidence when the legislation was going through the Senedd, pointing out the regressive nature of the tax and how the Economic Impact Assessment was so deeply flawed. We still maintain that it will cost more to administer than it will raise and cost private sector jobs. Work continues to try and mitigate the impact of the Tax and we have been working closely with all the councils that are considering introducing one. Cardiff will, and Anglesey, Gwynedd and Conwy are Consulting, with Powys considering. More information on Tourism Levies here: https://www.pascuk.co.uk/resources/stop-the-holiday-tax/

PASC UK Cymru gathers the evidence that is needed to make economic arguments to the Welsh Government on the damage that these measures cause, plus providing owners in Wales with Guidance notes on how to support lobbying and how to respond to the Consultation into 182 days letting threshold. We regularly put out calls for ‘Case Studies’ of the economic and social impacts of these measures at the request of Welsh Government Officials.

We have an increasingly really good spread and number of Members in Wales including self-catering agencies, and hope that other Welsh business will join us to try and offset the worst of the threatened changes.

Joining PASC UK is easy, a single property is just £90 (plus VAT from 1 January 2025) per annum. Membership gives a range of benefits including email and phone support and numerous sector specific papers on topics ranging from legal papers providing Terms and Conditions, CCTV etc, plus papers dealing with VOA, Business Rates, EV Charging etc as well as access to discounts via the PASC UK Buying Club.

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