Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025

46 Levy partnership forums

(1) A principal council that has introduced the visitor levy in its area must establish a forum (a “levy partnership forum”) for discussion of issues relating to the visitor levy in the council’s area, with a view to providing the council with, in particular—

(a) information and advice on how the proceeds of the levy may be used for the purposes of destination management and improvement in the council’s area;

(b) information and advice on a proposal by the council (where the Welsh Ministers have made regulations under section 34 enabling principal councils to add an additional amount to the levy) to—

(i) add an additional amount to the levy,

(ii) change an additional amount that has been added to the levy, or

(iii) remove an additional amount that has been added to the levy,

whether before or after the council publishes a report under section 47(4)(b).

(2) The principal council must, in the exercise of any functions under this Part, have regard to any information or advice provided in the forum on the matters specified in subsection (1)(a) and (b).

(3) The principal council must—

(a) take reasonable steps to ensure that it has established the levy partnership forum no later than three months after the date on which the levy comes into effect in the council’s area,

(b) make arrangements for the forum to meet at least once in each financial year in which the levy has effect in the council’s area, and

(c) facilitate meetings of the forum and take reasonable steps to ensure that the forum is able to effectively discuss issues, and provide information and advice, as described in subsection (1).

(4) The principal council—

(a) must take reasonable steps to ensure that the levy partnership forum includes persons who are representatives of—

(i) organisations that represent businesses that work in tourism, or are engaged in activities related to tourism, in the principal council’s area;

(ii) organisations that promote or facilitate tourism in the council’s area;

(b) may include in the forum any other persons, that have an interest in tourism or visitor accommodation in the council’s area, that the council considers appropriate.

(5) The principal council must, in exercising its functions under subsection (3), take reasonable steps to ensure that the forum membership is representative of a range of views concerning tourism and visitor accommodation in the council’s area.