New moves to overcome discrimination against Gypsies and Travellers in UK

national | miscellaneous | news report Sunday February 03, 2002 15:58 by John O - MOJUK mojuk at mojuk dot org dot uk 00 44 121 554 6947

The Bill is the product of over four years of discussion and collaboration between Gypsies and Travellers and the statutory and voluntary sectors, including representatives from the Churches. CCRJ, a Commission of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, has been involved since the beginning. The process has been co-ordinated by the Traveller Law Research Unit (TLRU) at Cardiff University.

New moves to overcome discrimination against Gypsies and Travellers

The Churches’ Commission for Racial Justice (CCRJ) endorses the Traveller Law Reform Bill launched yesterday, Thursday 31 January. CCRJ believes that the reforms contained in the Bill are necessary to remove the racial discrimination experienced by Gypsies and other Travellers.
The Bill is the product of over four years of discussion and collaboration between Gypsies and Travellers and the statutory and voluntary sectors, including representatives from the Churches. CCRJ, a Commission of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, has been involved since the beginning. The process has been co-ordinated by the Traveller Law Research Unit (TLRU) at Cardiff University.
CCRJ welcomes the Bill because it abolishes discriminatory statutory provisions. It removes from the political arena decisions on site provision and evictions. Instead it:
1. Creates a Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Commission which will be responsible for assessing the need for sites throughout England and Wales;
2. Requires local authorities to facilitate site provision by providing for planning permissions for owner occupied sites, ‘tolerating’ historic sites and working with Housing Associations, which will have power to provide and manage sites;
3. Ensures that local authorities which have failed to facilitate the provision of sufficient sites will have greater difficulty in evicting illegal encampments on their own land; planning inspectors will have to have regard to such failure when determining applications by Gypsies and other Travellers for permission to develop their own sites.
Local authorities have a duty to house certain ‘settled’ people, and the Housing Corporation supports the construction of public housing. But there are currently far too few legal halting sites for the number of people living a nomadic life, and since 1994 there has been no duty on local authorities to provide accommodation for Travellers and no central government grants available to fund caravan site construction. The Bill extends the Housing Corporation’s powers to support site development, thus removing the discrimination currently faced by those living or wishing to live in caravans.
CCRJ Commission Secretary, Revd Arlington Trotman, said: ‘We welcome these reforms because they would end resistance to site provision, often reinforced by negative stereotypical attitudes based partly on the lawless behaviour of some Gypsies. Christian Gypsies would have the right to hold religious gatherings, and not be denied because of popular prejudice and racial discrimination.’
Now Gypsy and Traveller organisations will lobby MPs and Lords to adopt the reform proposal and hope it will be introduced as a Private Member’s Bill.
-Ends -
For further information:
Anne van Staveren Press Officer, CTBI 020 7523 2137 or mobile 07939 139 881
Revd Arlington Trotman CCRJ Secretary 020 7523 2138 or 07940 529283
Richard Solly, CCRJ, 020 7523 2133 (Friday)
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland was renamed in 1999; it was previously the Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland. CTBI co-ordinates the work of its 31 member Churches and liaises with ecumenical bodies in Britain and Ireland as well as ecumenical organisations at European and world levels. Its work includes Church Life, Church and Society, Mission, Inter Faith relations, International Affairs and Racial Justice. It provides a forum for joint decision-making and enables the Churches to take action together.
2. The Churches’ Commission for Racial Justice (CCRJ) is a Commission of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. It includes representatives from the Churches and related organisations. It monitors trends and developments in the field of racial justice in Britain and Ireland and Europe and seeks to co-ordinate the Churches’ response on key issues.
3. For a copy of the Bill, see www.cf.ac.uk/claws/tlru/bill/.html   A preview copy is available [email protected]
4. The Traveller Law Research Unit is a specialist unit within the Law School of Cardiff University. The Unit has, since 1995, undertaken research for a number of charitable foundations, and aims to promote law reform and provide services of benefit to Travelling People.
5. According to TLRU, there are between 200,000 and 300,000 Travelling People in the United Kingdom. The majority are Gypsies - whether English, Scottish or Welsh - and Irish Travellers, ethnic groups under the protection of the Race Relations Acts. At least one-third have no safe, legal and secure stopping place, and many have no access to water, refuse disposal and other essential services. TLRU research suggests that Gypsies and other Travellers in the United Kingdom have the highest infant mortality rates, the lowest life expectancy, the highest rates of illiteracy, some of the most appalling accommodation provisions and some of the most negative media coverage of any ethnic group in the country.