Overcrowded, unsuitable and poorly maintained local authority sites have become the norm for the Gypsy and Traveller community a Senedd Committee has found. Despite signs that funding to support the refurbishment and development of new local authority sites is now starting to flow, years of stasis has left a lasting impact on the health and wellbeing of many living on these sites.
The Senedd’s Local Government and Housing Committee found in 2022 that the Welsh Government was failing to hold local authorities accountable for inaction in providing suitable sites for Gypsies and Travellers to live on. Three years on, and many in the traveller community feel little has changed. The Committee’s report will be debated in the Senedd on Wednesday 7 May.
Engagement… what engagement?
The Committee’s follow-up inquiry on the provision of sites for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers found limited progress in site development, refurbishment and maintenance. It also expressed its deep disappointment at the lack of improvement in engagement by local authorities with the Gypsy and Traveller community.
During the Committee’s original inquiry, BASW (The British Association of Social Workers) stated that councils were “listening, but not hearing” one of the most disadvantaged and socially excluded communities in Wales. Travelling Ahead felt that engagement with the community often occurred far too late in the day to be meaningful, and too infrequent to build trust. It was clear to the Committee that little had changed since then. The maintenance of local authority traveller sites was a prime example of the poor engagement between councils and Gypsy and Traveller communities.
The Committee heard that the apparent absence of priority given to resolve the most basic maintenance issues impacts on the mental wellbeing of those living on these sites. First-hand evidence from members of the Gypsy and Traveller community described unimaginable living conditions, including rat infestations and pollution. There is a strong sense that the community isn’t a priority for the distribution of council resources according to some contributors, unlike council estates which have a “maintenance schedule and programme” for repairs they said.
The Cabinet Secretary responded to the Committee’s recommendations in April, noting that the Welsh Government had “put in place a programme of monitoring” which includes intelligence on the “poor condition of sites”.
A nomadic life without transit provision
Gypsy and Traveller communities are finding it harder to live their nomadic life compared to past generations. While many settle on specific sites, be that local authority owned or private sites, it is increasingly difficult for Gypsies and Travellers to find places to stop when they do travel across country.
Transit pitches provide designated areas where Gypsies and Traveller families can legally stop for a limited time, and will usually be connected to certain utilities. Welsh Government data shows only two permanent transit pitches in the whole of Wales, which has not changed for years.
Responding to the Committee’s recommendation on increasing transit provision, the Welsh Government asserts there are four transit pitches in Wales - Gwynedd, Pembrokeshire and Torfaen. However, the Welsh Government notes that two are not included in the data as they are “not openly available and known about by all community members who travel nomadically”. Whether it is two or four, the figures do not match the Welsh Government’s ambition in its original Anti-racist Wales Action Plan, published in 2022. This stated it would establish “at least 5 pitches” in both north and south Wales by 2025.
Identifying and meeting the needs of the Gypsy and Traveller community is ultimately the responsibility of the local authority, and the recent round of Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments (GTAAs), according to the Cabinet Secretary, only identified “some need” for transit provision in Wales.
Nevertheless, the Committee did hear of progress in parts of Wales in developing negotiated stopping places, such as in Ynys Môn. These are sites with agreement by landowners and public authorities for short term stopping places as Gypsies and Travellers pass through an area. These are different to permanent transit provision, but provide an alternative model of accommodation.
The Cabinet Secretary confirmed that a contract has been awarded to Gypsies and Travellers Wales, a charity that seeks to ensure suitable, safe accommodation for all Gypsies and Travellers in Wales. This is to develop a national evidence base and recommendations for the “location and models of transit and/or negotiated stopping places across Wales”. A strong stipulation of the contract is that the charity must:
engage with community members who travel nomadically, including Irish Travellers who regularly enter through North Wales and travel across local authority areas.
For the travelling community, once on such transitory provision, it is the basics that make the difference, such as appropriate waste and sanitary services, something the Committee said was a “must” moving forward.
Living on their own land
While the duty on local authorities to provide suitable sites for Gypsies and Travellers is statutory, what many in the community want is to simply live on their own land. While some are fortunate enough to have bought land, too often, the land is either unsuitable for habitation, or are obstructed at every stage.
The Committee urged the Cabinet Secretary to progress a pilot programme to provide specialist planning advice to the Gypsy and Traveller community. This was a commitment in the Welsh Government’s Anti-racist Wales Action Plan.
The Cabinet Secretary confirmed that additional funding has been awarded to Travelling Ahead, an advice and advocacy charity that works alongside Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families, to provide this service. This is in addition to the broader Advocacy and Advice contract it delivers on the Welsh Government’s behalf. This will enable the provision of “targeted planning advice to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities looking to develop private sites”. This service began in April, and will run for a period of 18 months.
One community member in north Wales told the Committee during a focus group session that they simply have no option currently but to live on local authority sites, and that there should be support to help them find appropriate private sites. Whether the new pilot service will have the required impact for a community that faces higher barriers than most will not be known for some time.
What next for the Gypsy and Traveller community?
Our article on the outcomes of the 2022 inquiry highlighted an urgent need to “work with the communities” to understand what is “right and appropriate for them”. Based on the Committee’s recent inquiry, there is still a lot to do. The recent reinstatement of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Stakeholder Group by the Welsh Government is a significant step forward, holding its first session in February. The Group brings together Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people with the Welsh Government, local authorities and voluntary sector organisations. The Welsh Government is also consulting on updated draft guidance on managing and designing Gypsy and Traveller sites, as well as guidance for undertaking Gypsy and Traveller accommodation assessments.
Ultimately, progress will be measured not by data on caravan pitches, or counting how much money has been spent, but by looking at whether Gypsies and Travellers’ lives have improved. The evidence from the community itself suggests that very little has changed in the past three years, and few seemingly hold out hope that the outlook will change for the better anytime soon.
You can watch the debate on the Committee’s report live on Senedd TV on Wednesday 7 May or view the transcript around 24 hours later.
Article by Osian Bowyer, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
