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

Summary

This action plan is divided into five sections. At the beginning of each section, we outline what we have heard from communities so that we can continue to be accountable. Each section has a number of objectives and commitments to address issues that communities have told us about, with targeted, specific and clear actions to tackle them.

The following outlines our high-level commitments for each section, and further detail on how we intend to work towards these commitments can be found in the Action Plan 2024–2026 section.

Accommodation and Planning

We will gather information from demonstration projects in Aberdeen City, Clackmannanshire, Fife, Highland, Perth & Kinross and South Lanarkshire to share with future projects. We will take the necessary steps for funding for Gypsy/Traveller accommodation to be accessed alongside housing under the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (or a successor housing programme) in the next Parliament.

We will ensure good standards of accommodation and mechanisms for improvement, and act on the research findings and recommendations generated from the Negotiated Stopping Pilot.

We will support preparation of a new guide to the planning system for the communities, sharing advice on contacting the communities and cultural awareness for planners.

Education

We will develop a series of high-level actions to ensure a national, strategic, and sustainable response to community perspectives and their experiences of barriers to education. We will support staff to improve educational outcomes for Gypsy/Traveller children and young people. We will also identify and support community members and educators to work together to raise awareness of Gypsy/Traveller culture and build local relationships and trust.

We will support schools to be proactive in communicating with Gypsy/Traveller parents to ensure that they have access to information and support at all stages of their children’s education. We will also ensure that community members can access support for literacy and digital literacy development.

Health

We will embed learning from the Minority Ethnic Carers of People Project (MECOPP) Community Health Worker service in mainstream health services. We also want to increase knowledge and understanding about the health and social care needs and inequalities experienced by the Gypsy/Traveller communities to inform and influence future service planning and design.

We want to ensure Gypsy/Traveller voices are included in our work to improve access to mental health supports and services, building understanding of Gypsy/Traveller culture in mental health community supports, and in Mental Health services. We also want to improve access to suicide prevention and self-harm training for staff working directly with Gypsy/Traveller communities.

Social Security, Work and Combatting Poverty

We will develop approaches to tackle barriers to accessing social security experienced by seldom-heard groups, including Gypsy/Travellers. We will also develop case studies of positive partnership approaches with Gypsy/Traveller communities, building from the pilot project with Fife Council.

We want to understand how the Tackling Fuel Poverty Strategy and our programmes may need to be adapted to reflect the particular needs of Gypsy/Travellers communities. We also want to improve the response to food insecurity for Gypsy/Traveller communities to reflect their needs and ensure they have an increased awareness of financial support available.

We aim to increase understanding among employers of prejudice against Gypsy/Travellers and the barriers they face in trying to access jobs, and provide guidance for employers on how they can tackle these barriers. We also want to develop approaches to tackle barriers to accessing employability support including self-employment experienced by Gypsy/Travellers.

Empower Communities, Improve Representation, and Tackle Racism and Discrimination

We will provide leadership to challenge racism and discrimination, promote Gypsy/Traveller’s rights and recognise Gypsy/Traveller history and culture. We also want to strengthen community development and engagement and work with Gypsy/Travellers to improve their involvement in decision-making.

We want to empower communities to better understand their human rights and how to exercise them, as well as increase opportunities for young Gypsy/Travellers to improve their skills and confidence to influence decision making processes; and challenge and change prejudice and discrimination.

We want to ensure that views of Gypsy/Traveller stakeholders inform activity relating to our Hate Crime Strategy Delivery Plan. We want to improve digital inclusion within Gypsy/Traveller communities, and increase knowledge and understanding about the differential experiences of Gypsy/Traveller communities.

The Ministerial Oversight Group on Gypsy/Travellers, co-chaired by the Minister for Equalities and COSLA’s Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing, will oversee the work of this action plan and discuss how challenges to delivery can be tackled. This will also be a forum for members of Gypsy/Traveller communities and stakeholders to engage in the discussion.