Memorandum by the Traveller Law Reform
Coalition (TLRC) (GTS 12)
THE TRAVELLER
LAW REFORM
COALITION WANTS:
— A duty on local authorities to provide
and facilitate site provision.
— A substantial increase in the Gypsy
Site Refurbishment Grant.
— Housing Corporation money to be used
for site construction.
— Improved tenure for Gypsies and Travellers
living on local authority sites.
— The creation of a Task Force.
— A study by the Social Exclusion Unit
to develop a greater understanding of the marginalisation experienced
by Gypsies and Travellers and to develop strategies to raise their
social inclusion.
THE TRAVELLER
LAW REFORM
COALITION
The Traveller Law Reform Coalition was formed
in September 2002 by various Gypsy and Traveller organisations
in order to coordinate their campaign to get the Government to
more effectively support their accommodation needs. The Traveller
Law Reform Coalition is viewed as the principal point of contact
with the Gypsy and Traveller community by the Commission for Racial
Equality and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Speaking of the TLRC Trevor Phillips—Chair
Commission for Racial Equality, has said
"The Commission for Racial Equality firmly
supports the work of the Traveller Law Reform Coalition, which
is playing a critical role in driving improvements for Gypsies
and Travellers, and providing a powerful voice to lobby for change.
There are clearly huge challenges ahead—and we hope to work
closely with the coalition in taking this and our own Gypsy and
Traveller strategy forward."
CURRENT PROVISION
AND LOCATION
OF SITES
An estimated 3,500 caravans are on unauthorised
encampments and approximately 20% of the Gypsy and Traveller community
are homeless. Research for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
The Provision and Condition of Local Authority Gypsy and Traveller
Sites in England by Pat Niner of the University of Birmingham
has shown that there is a need for the provision of between 2,000
and 2,500 additional transit pitches by 2007 and between 1,000
and 2,000 additional permanent pitches by the same date. Niner
(2002, page 18) also estimates that 70% of sites included in her
survey are located in marginal space. Over 50% are located near
polluted, hazardous or other undesirable space where housing development
would never be considered.
The Conservative Government in 1994 sought to
privatise Gypsy and Traveller accommodation through circular 1/94,
which called upon local authorities to assist Gypsies and Travellers
to identify land and develop private sights. In reality few do,
in fact approximately 90% of planning applications by Gypsies
and Travellers fail at their first attempt as opposed to 20% for
the settled community. The shortage of sites and lack of support
from local authorities has led to Travellers buying land and seeking
retrospective planning permission. This has caused anxiety for
the Gypsy and Traveller community. In some cases inappropriate
development and huge legal costs for Travellers and local authorities
but also it has created a huge shortage of provision. The consensus
is that this circular has failed and needs to be radically revised
and that there is a need for a more effective and inclusive set
of mechanisms to increase site provision.
If demand for Gypsy and Traveller sites is to
be met there is a paramount need for a duty on local authorities
to provide and facilitate. Most of the 324 local authority sites
which exist today were created as a consequence of the 1968 Caravan
Sites' Act. After the abolition of the duty in 1994 site construction
virtually came to a standstill.
The Government is introducing a new planning
system as part of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill. Under
proposals for the new planning system if a Local Development Document
(LDD) does not contain provision for Traveller accommodation commensurate
with the assessed need, the Secretary of State can direct the
local authority to modify the document prior to its adoption as
part of the development plan. The Secretary of State also has
power to direct the local authority to prepare a revision of the
LDD which deals with Traveller sites. If there was an increase
in demand for sites during the 15-year life of the development
plan, and the local authority ignored it, they would be liable
to an order under Clause 25.
The powers are there, and the possibility of
their use may be enough to persuade local authorities to allocate
sufficient land to meet the need. It will all turn on how the
Secretary of State deals with recalcitrant authorities—and
in that, it is similar to the 1968 Act. There, it was the reluctance
to use the available powers which got the programme off to a slow
start.
The power for intervention exists and will need
to be used in the first instances of local authorities trying
to avoid meeting any targets set, as other local authorities will
be watching carefully to see if it is possible to also "slip
through the net". History and experience has demonstrated
that a clear and explicit duty will be needed to ensure that local
authorities deliver on the issue of Gypsy and Traveller accommodation.
In June 2003 members of the TLRC (Chris Johnson,
Charles Smith, Cliff Codona and Father Joe Browne), gave evidence
to the ODPM committee for the draft Housing Bill, this committee
of MPs called upon the government to introduce a duty to provide/facilitate
Traveller sites. We still strongly support that proposal and we
are pleased to state that the CRE has accepted this argument and
drafted a clause to the Housing Bill calling for the establishment
of such a duty. This has been endorsed by a wide body of organisations
including the National Farmers Union, Association of Chief Police
Officers, Shelter, Children's Society, Local Government Association
and Traveller Law Reform Coalition. The clause was tabled at report
stage of the Bill by John Battle MP.
DEMAND FOR
AND USE
OF SITES
The report by Pat Niner The Provision and
Condition of Local Authority Gypsy and Traveller Sites in England
has already been quoted and suggests there is a large body of
unmet demand for pitches. The 1968 Caravan Sites' Act created
a duty to provide sites owned and managed by local authorities,
we wish to see a duty on local authorities to provide and facilitate,
this would create the range of public and private, urban and rural
accommodation types for Gypsies and Travellers who as with the
settled community wish to be able to choose from a broad range
of accommodation types according to ownership, price and location.
"Facilitate" refers to local authorities assisting Gypsies
and Travellers to buy and live on their own land.
The provision of more, and the maintenance of
existing, public sites should be seen as a important part of any
national strategy to meet Travellers accommodation needs, and
to provide for those of limited economic means and where land
prices are prohibitive. Management and financing of public sites
should have the same range of options as housing and should include
Housing Associations. Standards of management and maintenance
should be set and monitored in the same way as the central government
initiative in housing "A Decent Home For All" (this
does not currently include Gypsy and Travellers sites).
More transit sites are needed, but the lack
of residential sites will tend to distort their usage, as Gypsies
and Travellers will want long term stopping. There have been few
successful examples of transit sites because of this, and because
of the failure of local authorities to maintain them.
One obstacle to meeting demand is a fear that
under the new planning system that once land is identified as
being suitable for site development it will increase in price
and be prohibitive in cost to many Gypsy and Traveller families,
there is also a fear that land speculators will buy up land and
then try to parcel such land off at exorbitant prices. There is
a need for the price of land to be capped or for central or local
government to create a loan scheme for Gypsies and Travellers
to buy their land as it may be difficult for some to secure conventional
mortgages. One proposal that may be of assistance is for local
authorities who have the power to compulsory purchase land, to
do so and then sell it on to Gypsies and Travellers at capped
rates.
EXISTING FUNDING
ARRANGEMENTS
The 100% exchequer grant that was introduced
in 1980 for site development was a useful spur to local authorities,
the termination of this grant in 1994, which led to the final
grants being distributed in 1997, was a great loss. We would like
to see Housing Corporation funding be made available for site
construction. We are pleased to note that in the Standing Committee
for the Housing Bill, Yvette Cooper MP, Under Secretary of State
at the ODPM, was very sympathetic to this proposal.
THE GYPSY
SITE REFURBISHMENT
GRANT SCHEME
£8 million has been made available for
the fourth round of the Gypsy Sites Refurbishment Grant in England.
Given the backlog of repairs that need urgent attention and the
fact that this money is supposed to fund transit sites it is grossly
inadequate and needs to be greatly increased.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS
AND THE
FACILITIES PROVIDED
The consensus of opinion is that some local
authority sites have failed because they have been too large.
Many believe that the ideal size for a site is one that can accommodate
a large extended family, regarding local authority pitches the
ideal size would be in the region of 10 pitches.
Many local authority sites have poor site facilities.
Niner's report found four out of 10 pitches were too compact and
in breach of fire and safety regulations, and only 4% of pitches
have a child play area (Niner 2002, pages 19 and 20). Furthermore,
on 16% of sites the amenities blocks were judged to be poor, three
out of 10 amenities blocks were less than the recommended nine
square metres. We feel that there is a pressing need for existing
and future sites to be redesigned/designed in a way which is more
conducive to the needs of families.
Travellers and Gypsies do not have the same
security of tenure as house dwellers. They are not included in
current housing legislation, and site residents have a license
agreement rather than a tenancy. On some sites licensees are given
as little as 24 hours notice to leave the site. This creates amongst
Gypsy and Traveller residents a real lack of ownership and stakeholding
in their site. At the Committee stage of the Housing Bill new
clauses were added to the Bill, which give Mobile Home owners
further rights and protection from exploitation. This leaves Gypsies
and Travellers on local authority sites even further behind other
types of tenants and we believe that these new rights for mobile
home owners increases the case for Gypsies and Travellers' concerns
over their security of tenure to also be addressed in the Housing
Bill . Karen Buck MP, with the support of the TLRC, tabled clauses
to this effect at standing committee and report stage of the Housing
Bill.
We would like to see a recognition of the history
of neglect and poor management of many local authority sites.
Existing models of good practise in this area are vital in assessing
the changes needed. We believe that a community development approach
to site management is effective. This approach supports a process
by which residents can genuinely represent themselves, and whereby
the management can work in partnership with the residents in order
to create well managed sites and a pleasant and safe living environment
for both the site residents and the local community. It will also
give many Gypsies and Travellers valuable experience of being
involved in decision making processes, which could encourage them
to participate in other community forums such as parish councils
and local authority/school educational bodies.
We would make a strong plea for safeguards to
be put in place to ensure that future site development is not
located in polluted or hazardous locations, as we have already
indicated that many sites are. Not only does this have a negative
impact on Gypsies and Travellers health and access to services
but it has a profound impact on how they feel they are perceived
and treated by the wider community, likewise such locations reinforce
the prejudiced perceptions that many in the settled community
have of Gypsies and Travellers, such locations are therefore a
major impediment to the social inclusion of Gypsies and Travellers.
MANAGEMENT OF
UNAUTHORISED CAMPING
We welcome aspects of the new ODPM guidance
on managing unauthorised encampments, in particular paragraphs
5.7 to 5.9 of that guidance which make it clear that all public
authorities, not just local authorities, must take account of
'humanitarian considerations' before considering eviction. Humanitarian
meaning factors like health or educational needs. We also welcome
aspects of the guidance which set a framework within which appropriate
decisions can be made on unauthorised encampments to minimise
disruption, linking the approach to unauthorised camping firmly
to other strategies and policies affecting Gypsies and Travellers
(site provision, planning, health, education, housing etc) and
with the potential to involve all those with an interest in the
process of developing the strategy.
We have grave concerns over the provisions of
the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003, which will give the police
extra eviction powers against Gypsies and Travellers where local
authorities are able to direct Gypsies and Travellers to vacant
pitches/stopping places. The Institute for Public Policy Research
recently launched a major report on Traveller accommodation "Moving
Forward". Dr Heaven Crawley noting the financial and welfare
costs of the present system declared in a Guardian article on
the 20/1/04.
"All this points to the urgent need for
the government to address the shortage of authorised sites and
to shift the issue away from criminalisation, public order and
anti-social behaviour towards provision, equality and enforcement
of rights. Although crime and anti-social behaviour needs to be
dealt with robustly and appropriately, the only legislation on
this issue over the past decade has been the Criminal Justice
and Public Order Act 1994 and the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.
Both extend the powers of the police and local authorities to
move Travellers and Gypsies on, but do nothing to provide sites
for them to be moved on to. The result is simply to push families
into neighbouring local authority areas, where similar problems
then occur".
To date the powers in the Anti Social Behaviour
Act have not been invoked because there are not vacant pitches.
It is our fear though that if local authorities develop sites
they will have limited facilities because of the lack of funds
available to develop sites, some may be allowed to be quickly
run down and become highly undesirable places to live yet satisfy
some local authorities as their existence will give them enhanced
eviction powers even if Gypsies and Travellers are hesitant to
move onto them. It should also be noted that some Gypsies and
Travellers might be hesitant to share such sites with different
travelling groups, again this will lead to a reluctance to move
onto sites which are large and accommodate families from different
travelling groups. It is our fear that some Gypsy and Traveller
families will be subjected to a greater cycle of enforced movement
and this will have a hugely negative impact on their health and
access to services.
ODPM STATISTICAL
INFORMATION ON
CARAVANS, SITES
AND FAMILIES
The ODPM is proposing to create a Gypsy and
Traveller accommodation needs assessment. We feel this should
have a detailed qualitative dimension to help develop a clearer
picture of the extent and nature of Gypsy and Traveller exclusion.
We also understand that there is to be a new biannual counts system
however we have been informed that no new mechanisms will be introduced
to check the accuracy of data, we feel there is a strong need
for such safeguards for the accommodation needs assessment and
biannual counts as in the past local authorities have undercounted
the Gypsy and Traveller population in their local area to escape
any responsibility they may have to them.
We would like to see the Government create a
Gypsy and Traveller Task Force. For too long Gypsies and Travellers
have been excluded from the political process and this has been
to the detriment of good policy. Such a Task Force could advise
the Government on the progress of the new planning system but
also a whole range of issues connected to the provision and demand
for sites and also offer some overview and scrutiny of the accommodation
needs assessment system and biannual counts.
Finally, for a number of years Gypsy and Traveller
groups have been calling for the Social Exclusion Unit to carry
out research into developing strategies to raise the social inclusion
of the Gypsy and Traveller community, we still feel this would
be useful but we would like to state that there is now ample research
data to show that there is a real and pressing demand for sites
and that shortages are causing problems for the health and life
chances of the Gypsy and Traveller community and it is now time
for the Government to act decisively and boldly in this policy
area.
CONCLUSION
Rodney Bickerstaffe President of the Labour
Campaign for Travellers' Rights, has said
"A litmus test of society's commitment to
fairness and equality is how it treats the most excluded, current
evidence suggests that we are failing with regards to the Gypsy
and Traveller community. It is for that reason that the work of
the TLRC is so important, it is my sincere hope that the concerted
campaign it has mounted will make the Government address the accommodation
needs of Gypsies and Travellers".
We believe the Government via the new planning
system and Housing Bill has a unique opportunity to address the
accommodation needs of the Gypsy and Traveller community and to
mainstream policies affecting them with the rest of society and
create a policy regime that reduces the tension between the Gypsy
and Traveller community, which is largely caused by the shortage
of sites. Reform presents a "win—win" situation
for the settled and Gypsy and Traveller community but also an
opportunity to make our society a more inclusive one. We would
urge the ODPM Committee to support our recommendations.
THE TRAVELLER
LAW REFORM
COALITION
Friends Families and Travellers
The Gypsy Council
Irish Traveller Movement in Britain
The Derbyshire Gypsy Liaison Group
Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange
The National Travellers' Action Group
The Trans European Roma Federation
The British Committee for Romany Emancipation
The Travellers' Aid Trust
The National Association of Gypsy Women
The London Gypsy Traveller Unit
The Labour Campaign for Travellers' Rights
The Travellers Advice Team/Community Law Partnership
The National Romany Rights' Association
Irish Community Care—Merseyside
The Irish Catholic Travellers' Chaplaincy
The Life and Light Missions
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