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

Our work so far

– A review of ‘Improving the lives of Gypsy/Travellers - Action Plan 2019-2021’

We published Improving the lives of Gypsy/Travellers - Action Plan 2019-2021 in October 2019 setting out concrete steps for improving outcomes for Gypsy/Travellers. The Plan consisted of 33 actions across 5 areas:

• Provide more and better accommodation;
• Improve access to public services;
• Better incomes in and out of work;
• Tackle racism and discrimination;
• Improve Gypsy/Traveller representation.

Stakeholder organisations and community members were key in developing this Action Plan. We have continued to work closely together to ensure that the actions delivered meaningful change in the lives of Gypsy/Travellers across Scotland. Originally intended to run until 2021, the plan was extended to September 2023 following the Covid-19 pandemic, and refreshed to ensure it remained relevant to the needs of Gypsy/Traveller communities.

We gathered data on successes and challenges of the previous Plan with policy colleagues across Scottish Government, external stakeholders and community members to prepare this review for accountability purposes and to inform the new Action Plan for 2024-2026.

The findings highlight that good progress has been made in most areas, with some particularly successful stories. However, we recognise that we still have work to do in areas like accommodation, access to public services, education, and tackling stigma and discrimination. We have worked to address these throughout the new Plan.

Key Successes

Provide more and better accommodation

• Before the Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund was established, a total of £2m was provided by the Scottish Government in 2020/21 to existing Local Authority sites to make immediate improvements with a focus on a better quality of life, including play and community facilities, adaptations to homes and digital connections.
• The Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund is providing up to £20m during 2021-26. With match funding from Local Authorities, this represents a significant collective investment in the culturally appropriate accommodation needed to meet the needs of communities. Nearly £15 million of the Fund has been spent or allocated (for 2021-25) to demonstration projects in six local authority areas.
• A number of demonstration projects have been established that will develop examples of model sites and develop an understanding of the accommodation needs and preferences of residents. This, alongside an independent evaluation, provides a strong evidence base to inform future policy and implementation.
• We have published an Interim Site Design Guide for Gypsy/Traveller sites, to drive a significant improvement in the quality of sites going forward. This was developed in conjunction with local authorities and with input from members of Gypsy/Traveller communities. This drew on the Gypsy/Travellers - accommodation needs: evidence review published in 2020.
• The National Planning Framework 4 (adopted in February 2023) includes a new positive policy framework for development to meet the housing needs of communities. It is clear that Councils’ local development plans (LDPs) should allocate land to ensure provision of accommodation for Gypsy/Travellers where need is identified. It supports development proposals for public, private, permanent and temporary Gypsy/Traveller sites and family yards, including on land not specifically allocated for this use in the LDP.
• The Planning (Scotland) 2019 Act strengthened engagement requirements within the planning system and specifically includes requirements for planning authorities to engage with Gypsy/Travellers as they prepare their LDPs. The definition of Gypsy and Traveller, defined in planning legislation for the purposes of local development plan engagement was the result of collaborative working with the community.
• Our LDP Guidance (May 2023) gives advice to planning authorities when engaging with Gypsies and Travellers, highlighting different engagement methods and signposting to representative organisations.
• A Priority (previously known as Vulnerable) Energy Consumers working group, chaired by the former Minister for Energy and the Environment, met on three occasions to consider, and seek potential solutions to, the impact of high energy costs on consumers living within vulnerable circumstances. Issues affecting Gypsy/Traveller communities, and raised by stakeholders at the working groups, will be included in Scottish Government asks of the new UK Government, prior to the Autumn Statement.
• COSLA has been working with Local Authorities to pilot the delivery of a Negotiated Stopping Approach to improve the support that is available to people who are camping roadside. This includes negotiating the provision of culturally appropriate and safe stopping places as well as access to sanitation and essential services. The pilot learned from experiences during the Covid-19 lockdown when the Scottish Government and COSLA worked together to produce a framework (Coronavirus COVID-19 supporting Gypsy/Travellers: framework for local authorities) to guide Local Authority support for affected families. The pilot is now in the evaluation stage and recommendations will be embedded in the new Action Plan.

Improve access to public services

• The Community Health Workers (CHWs) programme led by MECOPP helped Gypsy/Traveller communities to overcome barriers to accessing health and other statutory services and provided information to help wider Gypsy/Traveller communities to improve their health and to access services.
• The programme, which became operational in December 2021 whereby CHWs – who are members of Gypsy/Traveller communities – were recruited and trained to provide support in a number of Health Boards areas including Tayside, Lothian, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and Highland.
• The ‘Mums Matter’ pilot project improved maternity, health visiting and income maximisation services for Gypsy/Traveller women.
• Networks of experts have been created to identify potential partnerships and opportunities for joint working, assisting in the sharing of learning and good practice and influencing NHS and Health and Social Care Partnership policy and service responses.
• A series of learning sacks containing materials, resources and learning activities to explore as a family, have been produced by the Scottish Traveller Education Programme (STEP), one of our strategic partners, to improve uptake of early learning and childcare with the Gypsy/Traveller community. STEP has now distributed 457 Starter Sacks reaching families in 19 Local Authorities, resulting in increased family participation and enrolments in nurseries and schools.
• STEP has also introduced the School Pledge Scheme, an incentivising tool which places responsibility on schools and local authorities to support best practice in ensuring monitoring of data, inclusive practice and the development of widening participation practice to support Gypsy/Traveller pupils and their families.
• The STEP Digital Teacher provided an educational lifeline for many children and their families before and during Covid-19. It held training programmes for local authority staff, produced and shared online resources and delivered one-to-one and group teaching for pupils. The app can be used when families are travelling or living in places without internet connection. The app allows school work to be stored offline and then shared with teachers at any point when Wi-Fi is available.
• Schools can also record specific details of pupils’ attainment ‘Levels’ as well as National Qualifications in the app, enabling pupils to share their progress in a wider range of awards and qualifications with a wider range of education settings.
• The Digital Rapid Assessment Guide allows any education setting to assess reading, writing and maths levels when Gypsy/Travellers children enrol mid-term, enabling them to begin a learning programme at the appropriate level.
• STEP also produced a series of cards with QR codes which families can give to school staff, directing them to the relevant section of the STEP website for professionals. This bypasses challenging conversations and has mitigated against many families removing children from schools.

Better incomes in and out of work

• The 'Seldom Heard Voices' research programme was set up to bring the voices of those with lived experience into the design and delivery of the Scottish social security system, with Gypsy/Travellers being identified as one key group.
• At a local level, Social Security Scotland’s Local Delivery Team have initiated and developed good working relationships with stakeholders supporting Gypsy/Traveller communities.
• We also improved the response to food insecurity for Gypsy/Traveller communities through funding for MECOPP who promoted access to cash-first support by increasing knowledge and uptake of complementary provision, e.g. Free School Meals provision and Best Start Foods. They also supported communities to access or develop their own community-led initiatives that celebrate the social value of food, encouraging integration and social connections.

Tackle racism and discrimination

• The Scottish Government supported key partners to provide training materials and resources to public services to help address needs in a culturally sensitive way.
• Progress in Dialogue’s ‘Long Shadow of Hate Crime’ project, supported by Scottish Government funding, has contributed to increased engagement and awareness raising on hate crime within Gypsy/Traveller communities.
• COSLA developed a ‘Local Leaders Network’, a cross-party network of local elected members with the shared aim to ‘champion’ the rights of Gypsy/Travellers, challenge discrimination and promote Gypsy/Traveller representation on relevant public forums. The Network is an essential transformative bridge between Gypsy/Travellers statutory services and wider settled communities. The Network has welcomed Gypsy/Travellers and stakeholders to inform them of issues faced by the community such as the impact of health provision and accommodation.
• In the last two years, the Scottish Government led on national Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month events to bring together MSPs, Councillors, stakeholders, community members, public service providers and the wider public to recognise the positive work of stakeholders and communities in tackling inequalities and discrimination. It was also a platform for those with influence to champion the needs of communities and challenge discrimination and inequalities.
• Scottish Government has published also guidance on the collection of data on ethnic group, updated in March 2022, which includes separate response options for ‘Gypsy/Traveller’ and ‘Roma’ to improve evidence and data gathering.

Improve Gypsy/Traveller representation

• Scottish Government and COSLA hosted regular community conversations as a space to raise live concerns affecting communities and to provide updates on the progress of the plan. The conversations enabled direct engagement with Scottish Government’s Minister for Equalities and COSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing.
• Scottish Government continued to ensure that Gypsy/Traveller needs were represented within a diverse range of areas, including those where they are often not heard or included.

Challenges

Despite the majority of the actions being successfully delivered, some priorities changed as as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, community members highlighted the need for more clear and concrete actions to ensure accountability and measure progress. Other points that were raised during the review include:

• The need for further disaggregated data and evidence to fully understand the experiences of Gypsy/Traveller communities.
• While local authorities have come forward with projects to improve existing sites with some additional pitches, the fund has not produced new sites. Robust evidence of accommodation needs continues to be a challenge for Local Authorities.
• A continuing need for stronger leadership and strategic commitment by Health Boards to tackle Gypsy/Traveller inequalities, with Health Boards to have a strategic, long-term plan for continuing to improve Gypsy/Traveller access to and experience of healthcare, recognising this cannot be done without continued investment in building trust and the cultural competence of staff.
• A general understanding that poor mental health and suicide is a significant issue for Gypsy/Traveller communities (particularly young males). Initial discussion has happened in relevant policy areas but further actions need to be taken to address these issues in a meaningful way.
• The need for more strategic planning in terms of education, to be supported by professional organisations such as the Association of Directors of Education (ADES), Education Scotland and General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).
• Staff and family surveys have shown that discrimination by education service providers, bullying and discrimination in playgrounds and culturally irrelevant curriculum are the key factors that prevent Gypsy/Traveller children transitioning from primary to secondary schools.
• Adult literacy as an area of necessary development over the coming years, being a barrier for parents who want to support their children.
• More work to tackle negative narrative on Gypsy/Travellers, to increase reports from Gypsy/Travellers on discrimination and stereotyping, and address poor service delivery in many councils areas.
• The need to ensure better networking between policy teams and stakeholders.

We have worked to address these in the new plan for 2024-2026, alongside many other points raised by both stakeholders and community members during our listening exercise. Further details are provided in the next section.