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

Action Plan 2024–2026

Accommodation and Planning

What we have heard and what issues were raised by communities:

• Need for more accommodation – More sites and increased pitch numbers, including transit pitches where needed. While the Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund has delivered additional pitches on some sites and larger pitches, due to pitch closures to meet fire safety distancing the overall amount of accommodation has not increased. Over the long term, there has been a reduction in site numbers. Sites can be under-occupied because of conditions or a cultural preference for living within extended family groups. Councils do not have an accurate picture of the need for more culturally appropriate accommodation.
• Need for better accommodation and an improvement in standards – Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund projects are improving some sites, and setting an expectation for improvement and highlighting contrasting conditions of some underdeveloped/older sites. Sites should not fall below the Minimum Standards for Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation and, at the same time, residents are keen to see improved standards in line with the Interim Site Design Guide.
• Need for more choice – Recognise there are different accommodation needs and preferences throughout communities, e.g., council/housing association run sites, houses, private yards, transit sites and stopping places. Recognition of cultural importance given to multigenerational family living and flexibility for family growth. Better communication and understanding of tenants’ rights to ensure greater consistency of a rights-based approach.
• Need for better communication/understanding around planning and the issues communities wish to address through planning – Make the local planning system more accessible to communities. Better accessibility, understanding, advice and support to enable effective navigation of the planning process. More community representatives need to be involved in the development of guides. Increase awareness of benefits of early engagement. Locations with better engagement in the early stages of the planning process are more likely to have a successful planning application. Increase planners’ understanding of different types of accommodation options. For example, better understanding of the concept of Private Yards which can offer stability and future security for extended family units to live in according to tradition.

Objective 1 - Continue to fund the Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund demonstration projects in Aberdeen City, Clackmannanshire, Fife, Highland, Perth and Kinross, and South Lanarkshire and gather information from them to share with future projects.

Actions

We will complete the independent evaluation of the Fund and publish the report.

Deadline: Interim Report Winter 2024/25

Responsible Team: Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation and Residential Mobile Home Policy

Actions

We will update the Interim Site Design Guide with additional information e.g. on decanting residents during the build and community engagement.

Deadline: Winter 2024/25

Responsible Team:Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation and Residential Mobile Home Policy

Actions

We will hold an event to share the lessons learned from the projects with Local Authorities.

Deadline: Winter 2024/25

Responsible Team: Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation and Residential Mobile Home Policy

Objective 2 - Work together with COSLA to gather the evidence and look at options for a follow up fund from 2026 onwards.

Actions

We will analyse the information from the demonstration projects to make a case for funding for future projects.

Deadline: Winter 2025/26

Responsible Team: Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation and Residential Mobile Home Policy

Actions

We will work with Local Authorities to identify investment needs on sites and consider the best way to improve site standards in the future.

Deadline: Winter 2025/26

Responsible Team: Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation and Residential Mobile Home Policy

Actions

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.

Deadline: Winter 2025/26

Responsible Team: Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation and Residential Mobile Home Policy

Objective 3 - Ensure good standards of accommodation and mechanisms for improvement.

Actions

We will continue with ongoing monitoring of standards on public sites under the Scottish Social Housing Charter:

Each year local authorities need to tell the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) if they meet regulatory requirements including the Regulatory Standards. They do this by submitting an Annual Assurance Statement (the Statement). Where a local authority with Gypsy/Traveller sites no longer complies with minimum site standards, it should set out in the Statement the nature of the issue, and how and when it will make the necessary improvements to ensure compliance as quickly as possible.

Social landlords, including local authorities, should make it easy for tenants and other service users to talk to them and get the information they need about the services they provide and decisions they make. Sometimes a resident on a Gypsy/Traveller site might have a problem with the standard of their home or site. SHR’s factsheet (Complaints and serious concerns - information for tenants and service users of social landlords) explains what residents can do if they have a complaint or serious concern.

Deadline: October 2024 – Annually

Responsible Team: Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation and Residential Mobile Home Policy

Scottish Housing Regulator

Actions

We will publish an independent analytical report relating to our recent consultation on a new Social Housing Net Zero Standard, which included proposals related to public sector Gypsy/Traveller sites. These analyses will inform the development of the finalised standard, which will help to ensure that Gypsy/Traveller communities will benefit from warmer, better-quality accommodation.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team: Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation and Residential Mobile Home Policy

Net Zero Housing Standard

Objective 4 - Commission research to create an Accommodation Needs Toolkit.

Actions

We will commission research to help Local Authorities identify Gypsy/Traveller accommodation needs and include them in their Housing Needs and Demand Assessments (HNDA), Local Housing Strategies (LHS) and Development Plans.

Deadline: Winter 2025/26

Responsible Team: Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation and Residential Mobile Home Policy

Objective 5 - Act on the research findings and recommendations generated from the Negotiated Stopping Pilot.

Actions

We will disseminate the findings from the Negotiated Stopping Pilot evaluation research.

Deadline: Autumn 2024

Responsible Team: COSLA Migration, Population and Diversity

Actions

We will develop a resource for local authorities, community partners and third sector organisations re: rights and entitlements to services and support for roadside camps.

Deadline: Spring 2025

Responsible Team: COSLA Migration, Population and Diversity

Actions

We will share best practice and support partners to take forward recommendations from the Negotiated Stopping Pilot in their area.

Deadline: March 2026 (Ongoing activity)

Responsible Team: COSLA Migration, Population and Diversity

Objective 6 - Support preparation of a new guide to the planning system for communities.

Actions

We will work with North and South Lanarkshire Councils (plus representatives from the communities) to co-develop a guide to planning, aimed at communities to make planning more accessible to them.

Deadline: Spring 2025

Responsible Team:

Planning, Architecture & Regeneration Division

North Lanarkshire Council

South Lanarkshire Council

HOPS

Actions

We will share and promote the guide more widely as an example of good practice through the Heads of Planning Scotland (HOPS) network and the Improvement Service.

Deadline: Ongoing once guide published

Responsible Team:

Planning, Architecture & Regeneration Division

North Lanarkshire Council

South Lanarkshire Council

MECOPP

HOPS

Improvement Service

Objective 7 - Share advice on contacting communities and cultural awareness for planners.

Actions

We will help planning authorities/Councils across Scotland establish ways of contacting communities when seeking to carry out required engagement to inform local development plans (LDPs).

Deadline: Spring 2025

Responsible Team:

Planning, Architecture & Regeneration Division

HOPS

MECOPP

Improvement Service

Actions

We will hold training session between MECOPP and Heads of Planning Scotland- Development Plan Sub-Committee to share advice around cultural appropriateness and best practice when carrying out engagement with communities to inform the early stages of plan making around LDP Evidence Reports.

Deadline: Spring 2025

Responsible Team:

Planning, Architecture & Regeneration Division

HOPS

MECOPP

Improvement Service

Education

What we have heard and what issues were raised by communities:

• More Gypsy/Traveller cultural awareness in our schools – Introduce children and young people to the Gypsy/Traveller way of life in a positive manner. Communities feel that current policy does not recognise nor celebrate traditionally nomadic communities.
• Need for action on bias and discrimination in schools – Discrimination and prejudice in schools is one of the main reasons for high levels of non-attendance. Experiencing racist and offensive language and physical violence from other pupils was common and many participants felt that staff did not deal with it effectively. Children described education staff as making assumptions about their lifestyle, their expected behaviour, and their educational potential. Few teachers were thought to be knowledgeable about the culture.
• More flexible education and training opportunities – Provide more flexible education and more opportunities for secondary age young people. Secondary school was not seen to be an option for many parents. Reasons included: a lack of knowledge about schools and staff; no tradition of attending within families; not seeing the relevance of the curriculum to the culture; aspects of the Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood (RSHP) curriculum being unacceptable; family traditions not being respected; concerns over children mixing with other children and genders leading to health worries relating to sex, alcohol and drugs.

Objective 8 - Develop a series of high-level actions to ensure a national, strategic, and sustainable response to the community perspectives and their experiences of barriers to education.

Actions

We will publish research (“community research”) carried out by the Scottish Traveller Education Programme (STEP) to demonstrate community experiences and perspectives on education, enhancing the current evidence base and understanding.

Deadline: October 2024

Responsible Team:

Additional Support for Learners

Health and Wellbeing

STEP

Actions

We will set up a short life working group to respond to the community research findings with membership from key stakeholders – Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES), Education Scotland, General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), Gypsy/Traveller communities, Local Authority (LA) Additional Support Needs (ASN) staff, Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). The group will scope out the issues (local/systemic) affecting Gypsy/Traveller participation in education and agree priority actions to achieve improvement. The group will align with work being taken forward on relationships and behaviour in schools, including updates to the national anti-bullying guidance, and development of guidance to addressing Racism and Racist Incidents in schools.

Deadline: November 2025

Responsible Team:

Additional Support for Learners

Health and Wellbeing

STEP

Actions

We will host a seminar with key stakeholders, providing an opportunity to engage with the community research and to expand knowledge and understanding in the profession/sector. To further this work, we will then disseminate the community research findings to a range of Community Learning and Development (CLD) and third sector partners and to discuss achievable local solutions.

Deadline: September 2024-June 2025

Responsible Team:

Additional Support for Learners

Health and Wellbeing

STEP

Objective 9 - Support staff to Improve educational outcomes for Gypsy/Traveller children and young people.

Actions

We will develop a toolkit for Local Authority staff and other educators based on the findings from the community research linking into the Improving educational outcomes for children and young people from travelling cultures: guidance. The toolkit will also align with national policies: for example, Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1, and Realising the Ambition. We will review the content of the toolkit with the short life working group, identify gaps and establish clear timescales, deliverables and key stakeholder engagement phases to implement the toolkit and embed it into practice

Deadline: November 2025

Responsible Team: Additional Support for Learners

STEP

Actions

We will consult with local authority staff to develop a resource to support transitions between primary and secondary schools or alternative education settings. This work will be underpinned by The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 which provides the legal framework to support transition planning for children and young people who face a barrier, or barriers to learning. This will include a rights-based approach ensuring that Gypsy/Traveller children and young people have a meaningful role in the development.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team: Additional Support for Learners

STEP

Objective 10 - Identify and support community members and educators to work together to raise awareness of Gypsy/Traveller culture and build local relationships and trust.

Actions

We will identify community members in four Local Authorities to liaise with education providers.

Deadline: September 2025

Responsible Team: Additional Support for Learners

STEP

Actions

We will identify educators in Local Authorities to liaise with local community members.

Deadline: September 2025

Responsible Team: Additional Support for Learners

STEP

Actions

We will provide information and resources to increase community member knowledge.

Deadline: September 2025

Responsible Team: Additional Support for Learners

STEP

Actions

We will support staff by providing targeted training and information.

Deadline: December 2025

Responsible Team: Additional Support for Learners

STEP

Actions

We will create a web resource to make information and contacts available.

Deadline: December 2025

Responsible Team: Additional Support for Learners

STEP

Objective 11 - 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.

Actions

We will extend and develop the 'STEP Starter Packs' programme so every child is able to learn through play, offering the best start for going to school and improving opportunities throughout life.

Deadline: March 2026

Responsible Team:

Additional Support for Learners

Health and Wellbeing

STEP

Actions

We will recruit 4 further schools to the 'School Pledge' programme and support delivery of this. Pledge Schools will commit to:

• establish a named contact point for Gypsy/Traveller pupils
• clearly identify and publicise the support for Gypsy/Traveller pupils already in place
• monitor the progress of pupils through data routinely collected within school
• build a supportive and welcoming culture
• inclusion, celebration and commemoration of Gypsy/Traveller cultures and communities.
• develop processes to identify Gypsy/Traveller pupils and monitor their progress
• commit to ensuring that staff development exists raising awareness of the barriers Gypsy/Traveller pupils face accessing education, and broadly in society.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team:

Additional Support for Learners

Health and Wellbeing

STEP

Actions

We will update our national anti-bullying guidance, Respect for All, to provide further guidance on prejudice-based bullying, including against Gypsy/Traveller children, and publish new guidance for schools on preventing and responding to racism and racist incidents.

Deadline: November 2024-Summer 2025

Responsible Team:

Additional Support for Learners

Health and Wellbeing

STEP

Objective 12 - Ensure that community members can access support for literacy and digital literacy development.

Action

We will signpost community members to access local or national support with literacy and digital development.

Deadline: March 2026

Responsible Team:

Additional Support for Learners

STEP

Health

What we have heard and what issues were raised by communities:

• More culturally sensitive health services – The importance of positive and culturally informed relationships with services providers. More cultural competency training for front-line health service providers, e.g., GPs, nurses, paramedics and administration.
• Better access to mental health services – Gypsy/Traveller communities are at higher risk of experiencing mental health crisis, which for some people can lead to self-harm and suicide. This is due to being disproportionately affected by poverty, poorer educational and employment opportunities and discrimination, as well as stigma. At the same time, they can also face greater barriers to support and services.
• Embed and further develop the role of MECOPP Community Health Workers (CHWs) – CHWs are playing a crucial role in representing and supporting community members to access health services and wider services. More development of CHW positions across health service areas.
• More information and support accessing health services – There are still barriers to registering for a GP and accessing health services, e.g. dealing with bureaucracy/forms, literacy issues, people with no fixed address, and discrimination. The need for more promotion of services that are already in place (e.g. blue card).

Objective 13 - Embed learning from the MECOPP Community Health Worker (CHW) service in mainstream health services, to inform future service planning and design.

Actions

We will continue to work with MECOPP, Health Boards and Community Health Workers (with a strong focus on NHS Ayrshire & Arran; NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde; NHS Highland; NHS Lanarkshire; NHS Lothian and NHS Tayside) to deliver on agreed priorities for mainstreaming, consistent with the needs of local Gypsy/Traveller communities. Agreed priorities include vaccinations and immunisation, screening, women’s health and menopause, mental health including men’s mental health and perinatal mental health, Primary Care and community health services, and long-term conditions including Diabetes (Type 1 and Type 2)

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team: Racialised Health Inequality and Health Equity

Actions

We will work with MECOPP and all Health Boards to embed learning from the Community Health Worker service and strengthen leadership and action to improve Gypsy/Traveller community access to, experience of, and outcomes of, healthcare across Scotland.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team: Racialised Health Inequality and Health Equity

Actions

We will report on the learning from the next phase of implementation including what worked, challenges and recommendations for future service.

Deadline: December 2025

Responsible Team: Public Health Scotland

Objective 14 - Increase knowledge and understanding about the health and social care needs and inequalities experienced by Gypsy/Traveller communities to inform and influence future service planning and design.

Actions

We will assess strategic needs of current and potentially future health needs of Gypsy/Traveller communities from a local and national perspective and engage with health boards to understand support needed for services to meet these health needs.

Deadline: August 2025

Responsible Team: Public Health Scotland

Actions

We will organise five co-design sessions with MECOPP (Gypsy/Traveller communities) to support with the design and delivery of the National Care Service through the grant-funded Seldom Heard Voices programme of co-design work

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team: Office of the Chief Designer/National Care Service Development and Delivery

Objective 15 - Ensure Gypsy/Traveller voices are included in our work to improve access to mental health supports and services.

Action

We will invite MECOPP to join and participate as full members in a) the Mental Health Equality and Human Rights Forum b) Suicide Prevention Scotland and c) Self-Harm Network Scotland to explore how we can better meet the needs of Gypsy/Travellers who may be experiencing or at risk of mental health distress or crisis, which may include self-harm and suicidal thoughts and behaviour. We will report on actions that have been taken as a result of their participation in each of these groups.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team: Distress Interventions and Suicide Prevention

Objective 16 - Build understanding of Gypsy/Traveller culture in mental health community supports, and in Mental Health services.

Actions

We will work in partnership with MECOPP to offer training on Gypsy/Traveller culture to services that support people who self-harm or who may have suicidal thoughts or feelings (for example Samaritans Scotland, and Self-Harm Network Scotland), so that they are better equipped to meet the needs of Gypsy/Traveller communities. We will evaluate the impact of this training with a view to exploring how the offer can be extended to other services over time. We will also encourage Scottish Government staff working in key areas of Mental Health policy to take up this training. At the same time we will work with MECOPP to understand what else we can do to encourage Gypsy/Traveller communities to make use of these services.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team: Distress Interventions and Suicide Prevention

Actions

We will work with Gypsy/Traveller organisations, initially through a focussed discussion with key staff, to explore whether and how mental health resources/materials can be tailored to better reflect, reach and meet the needs of Gypsy/Traveller communities.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team: Distress Interventions and Suicide Prevention

Actions

We will actively support MECOPP’s Community Health Workers to connect with organisations and networks that are delivering suicide prevention work in local areas, and will gather information on how this has been taken forward, sharing examples of positive practice, through relevant networks.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team: Distress Interventions and Suicide Prevention

Objective 17 - Improve access to suicide prevention and self-harm training for staff working directly with Gypsy/Traveller communities.

Action

We will work with organisations that work directly to support Gypsy/Traveller communities to help them to access a) self-harm prevention training and b) suicide prevention training for key staff.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team: Distress Interventions and Suicide Prevention

Objective 18 - Build our understanding of the risk of suicide in Gypsy/Traveller communities.

Action

We will ensure that Gypsy/Travellers are included as a distinct group in our work to review deaths by suicide to improve our understanding of the factors which contribute to suicide deaths in Scotland and utilise this to support the development of action plans to address suicide risk.

Deadline: March 2026

Responsible Team: Distress Interventions and Suicide Prevention

Social Security, Work and Combatting Poverty

What we have heard and what issues were raised by communities:

• Need more information to understand social security entitlements – Communities lack awareness of the financial support they are eligible for, and entitled to. Communities need more support in understanding the social security system and more work is required to tackle the key barriers which prevent benefit take-up, e.g. stigma.
• More support when applying for benefits – There are challenges navigating the social security system, including the emotional and financial impacts this presents. The social security system is complex, and difficulties completing application forms and navigating online systems can be increased for some Gypsy/Travellers who experience low literacy levels. Community members noted a strong preference face-to-face support, rather than online approaches.
• More information and support with establishing businesses – Self-employment is the primary occupation status within communities. The development of opportunities to build knowledge and expertise in running a small business or being self-employed would benefit individuals and remove negative stereotyping of cultural traditional trades.
• More cultural awareness for employers – Gypsy/Travellers experience unconscious bias and stereotyping during the recruitment process. Also, need to promote and encourage the recognition of skills within communities to employers.
• Need for more access to skills and trades for young people – Better pathways to apprenticeships that address challenges faced by Gypsy/Traveller communities are needed, e.g. gaps in education. Pathways for mentoring/training within communities/family business to be developed and recognised.

Objective 19 - Develop approaches to tackle barriers to accessing social security experienced by seldom-heard groups, including Gypsy/Travellers.

Actions

We will publish a Seldom-Heard Groups Benefit Take-Up Action Plan setting out the steps we will take to support these groups to access their entitlements.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team: Supporting Access to Social Security

Actions

We will continue to share the findings from a recent Seldom-Heard Groups Evidence Review with key internal and external stakeholders. This will allow us to identify opportunities for actions to be included in the published plan.

Deadline: September 2024

Responsible Team: Supporting Access to Social Security

Actions

We will continue engaging with stakeholders who represent Gypsy/Traveller interests through the Benefit Take-Up Stakeholder Reference Group.

Deadline: March 2026 (Ongoing activity: meets quarterly)

Responsible Team: Supporting Access to Social Security

Actions

We will carry out research to further develop our understanding of how to reach and engage Gypsy/Traveller communities with communication around devolved benefits.

Deadline: September 2024

Responsible Team: Social Security External Communications

Objective 20 - Link with Lead Officers for Gypsy/Traveller sites in Local Authority areas to develop case studies of positive partnership approaches with Gypsy/Traveller communities, building from the pilot project with Fife Council.

Actions

We will continue to engage with Lead Officers in the areas where these roles are in place to build relationships and to develop trust and engagement with these client groups.

Deadline: March 2026 (Ongoing activity)

Responsible Team: Social Security Scotland – Local Delivery

Actions

We will continue to use existing Relationship Lead presence at local strategic partnerships to ensure awareness of Social Security benefits.

Deadline: March 2026 (Ongoing activity)

Responsible Team: Social Security Scotland – Local Delivery

Actions

We will consider available insight and evidence, including the effectiveness of previous presentations on Social Security payments and Social Security Scotland’s service to Gypsy/Traveller families, to identify the most effective approach to ensure this group has access to appropriate information to support take-up.

Deadline: March 2026 (Ongoing activity)

Responsible Team: Social Security Scotland – Briefing and Engagement

Objective 21 - Understand how the Tackling Fuel Poverty Strategy and our programmes may need to be adapted to reflect the particular needs of Gypsy/Travellers communities.

Action

We will consult with representatives of Gypsy/Travellers communities when consulting on the first fuel poverty periodic report, as referenced in the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team: Fuel Poverty

Objective 22 - 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.

Action

We will develop service and activities in Fife, 'Argyll and Bute' to support communities right to food (including healthy foods) and income maximisation via MECOPPs Food Insecurity Service.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team

Food Insecurity

MECOPP

Objective 23 - As part of delivering our Anti-Racist Employment Strategy, 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.

Actions

We will explain the specific issues relevant to Gypsy/Travellers as we build anti-racism capability and understanding among senior leaders in both the public and private sectors.

Deadline: March 2026

Responsible Team: Anti-Racism in Employment

Actions

We will include information on Gypsy/Travellers in our refreshed Minority Ethnic Recruitment Toolkit.

Deadline: March 2026

Responsible Team: Anti-Racism in Employment

Actions

We will remind employers of the need to provide training and other learning opportunities on Gypsy/Traveller communities in the framework we are developing to help employers identify their training needs on anti-racism.

Deadline: March 2026

Responsible Team: Anti-Racism in Employment

Actions

We will provide support for public sector employers on the use of Positive Action to increase recruitment, promotion and retention of Gypsy/Travellers in their workforces.

Deadline: March 2026

Responsible Team: Anti-Racism in Employment

Actions

We will include links to information, networks and stakeholders on Gypsy/Travellers in the Fair Work Resource Hub that we are creating for employers.

Deadline: March 2026

Responsible Team: Anti-Racism in Employment

Objective 24 - Develop approaches to tackle barriers to accessing employability support including self-employment experienced by Gypsy/Travellers.

Action

We will work together with partners, including Local Authorities, to develop signposting from existing services used by Gypsy/Travellers to local employability services.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team: Employability Policy

Empower Communities, Improve Representation, and Tackle Racism and Discrimination

What we have heard and what issues were raised by communities:

• Need for more work to fight racism and discrimination – Gypsy/Travellers experience high levels of racism and discrimination and are often stigmatised because of their identity. There is a need to counter misrepresentation and encourage more positive cultural awareness in public services (including teachers, social work, health), media (national and local press and wider social media forums), service sectors (e.g. shops and restaurants), and general public. Furthermore, we need to ensure that Gypsy/Travellers can confidently and safely report hate crime, and that actions are taken to investigate such reports.
• Need for better representation – Gypsy/Travellers and their needs should be represented in decision-making forums throughout public service delivery, Scottish Parliament and Council chambers. Disaggregated data on Gypsy/Travellers is also essential to better understand issues.
• Need more advocates for Gypsy/Traveller communities – More elected members and officials working alongside, and supporting, Gypsy/Traveller communities.

Objective 25 - Provide leadership to challenge racism and discrimination, promote Gypsy/Traveller’s rights and recognise Gypsy/Traveller history and culture.

Actions

We will ensure Gypsy/Travellers needs are reflected in work within the Scottish Government’s Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights Directorate, and we will promote Gypsy/Travellers needs across the organisation, putting in contact policy makers with stakeholders and community representatives when necessary.

Deadline: March 2026

Responsible Team: Strategic Anti-Racism

Actions

We will commemorate Gypsy, Roma, Travellers History Month (June) to raise awareness on Gypsy/Travellers and Roma culture.

Deadline: June 2025

Responsible Team: Strategic Anti-Racism

Actions

We will develop the Local Leaders Network, a cross-party network of local elected members with the shared aim to ‘champion’ work to improve the lives of Gypsy/Travellers.

Deadline: March 2026 (Ongoing activity)

Responsible Team: COSLA Migration, Population and Diversity

Actions

We will facilitate Local Authority Lead Officer Group meetings. This group will support the delivery of the Action Plan and provide a forum for sharing information and best practice across Local Authorities.

Deadline: March 2026 (Ongoing activity)

Responsible Team: COSLA Migration, Population and Diversity

Objective 26 - Strengthen community development and engagement and work with Gypsy/Travellers to improve their involvement in decision-making.

Actions

We will organise regular community conversations between Gypsy/Travellers communities, the Equalities Minister and COSLA’s Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing to give a platform to raise concerns directly with leaders.

Deadline: March 2026

Responsible Team

Strategic Anti-Racism

COSLA Migration, Population and Diversity

Actions

We will set up a Ministerial Oversight Group to provide a scrutiny function to this action plan and to ensure sound delivery and improvements across all relevant portfolio areas.

Deadline: October 2024

(Ongoing activity)

Responsible Team: Strategic Anti-Racism

Actions

We will invite those with lived experience to share their knowledge with the Local Leaders Network and Lead Officer Groups.

Deadline: March 2026 (Ongoing activity)

Responsible Team: COSLA Migration, Population and Diversity

Objective 27 - Empower communities to better understand their human rights and how to exercise these.

Action

We will deliver a tailored human rights training programme for communities. This will be piloted in Highlands and in Great Glasgow and Clyde areas to provide rural and urban opportunities and delivered by MECOPP.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team

Strategic Anti-Racism

MECOPP

Objective 28 - Improve opportunities for children and young Gypsy/Travellers to have their views heard.

Actions

We will raise awareness and increase knowledge of human rights and the UNCRC through our programmes, reaching up to 50 young Gypsy/Travellers across Scotland.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team

Empowered Children and Young People

Article 12

Actions

We will consult with up to 20 young Gypsy/Travellers on their rights as part of the UNCRC reporting process.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team

Empowered Children and Young People

Article 12

Objective 29 - Increase opportunities for young Gypsy/Travellers to improve their skills and confidence to influence decision making processes; and challenge and change prejudice and discrimination.

Action

We will train up to five young Gypsy/Travellers as human rights defenders, providing Learning and Development which will enable them to advocate for their communities to decision makers at the local and national level.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team

Empowered Children and Young People

Article 12

Objective 30 - Ensure the views of Gypsy/Traveller stakeholders inform activity relating to our Hate Crime Strategy Delivery Plan.

Action

We will consult with Gypsy/Traveller stakeholders and reflect the views of Gypsy/Traveller communities in the development of a national resource for local authorities to help address hate crime and strengthen community cohesion at a local level.

Deadline: March 2026

Responsible Team: Hate Crime

Objective 31 - Improve digital inclusion within Gypsy/Traveller communities.

Action

We will deliver a nationally co-developed IT digital training to upskill families in communities.

Deadline: March 2025

Responsible Team

Digital Ethics and Inclusion

MECOPP

Objective 32 - Increase knowledge and understanding about the differential experiences of Gypsy/Traveller communities.

Actions

We will analyse the Scotland Census 2022 dataset, to draw out understanding of differential experiences of Gypsy/Traveller communities. Where possible, this will be supplemented by additional official statistics.

Deadline: June 2025

Responsible Team: Equality Analysis

Actions

We will promote ethnicity data collection by continuing to disseminate guidance and showcase best practice in collecting, analysing and presenting ethnicity data across policy areas. This would include, for example, through seminars and workshops.

Deadline: March 2026

Responsible Team: Equality Analysis