Improving the Lives of Scotland's Gypsy/ Travellers 2: action plan 2024-2026 - easy read

Introduction

This Easy Read document is about a Scottish Government plan to make the lives of Gypsy/Traveller communities better.

There may be around 15 thousand Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland.

Gypsy/Travellers are one of the groups in Scotland most likely to:

• not be included or be able to fairly take part in things including:
  • social opportunities
  • education
  • getting a job
• have poor health

  

• live in poverty – not having enough money to pay for basic things like food, heating or housing

  

• be dealing with discrimination – being treated unfairly – sometimes because of racism - being treated unfairly because of your ethnic group

  

• be living in poor quality accommodation that makes them ill and unhappy

  

• have difficulties getting services and getting benefits because of:

  

  • difficult application forms
  • difficulty finding information about services
  • long waiting times

The Scottish Government and COSLA made an action plan called Improving the lives of Gypsy/Travellers - Action Plan 2019-2021

COSLA represents Scottish local councils.

When this plan was checked it showed that good progress has been made since 2019 particularly with:

• health
• representation – making sure the views of Gypsy/Traveller communities are listened to when Government decisions and policies are made

We still have work to do in areas like:

• accommodation
• access to public services
• education
• dealing with discrimination

The work in the first plan will take longer to do.

The new plan will:

• protect human rights
• make sure people are treated equally and fairly
• create strong communities that work together well