Local development plans – defining Gypsies and Travellers: interim impact assessments
Integrated interim impact assessments on a proposed definition of ‘Gypsies and Travellers’ for the purpose of local development plan regulations on evidence reports.
Interim Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment
This Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment template should be used with the guidance published on the Scottish Government website. This gives advice about applying the Duty, links to useful resources and a glossary of key terms.
Title of policy/practice/ strategy/legislation etc.: Consultation on a proposed definition of 'Gypsies and Travellers' for the purpose of Local Development Plan regulations on Evidence Reports.
Lead Minister: Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth
Lead official: Dr Fiona Simpson
Directorate Division team: Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Division
Summary of aims and expected outcomes of strategy, proposal, programme or policy
Background
The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act, 1997, as amended by the Planning (Scotland) Act, 2019, sets out requirements for planning authorities to involve the Gypsy and Traveller community in the early stages of preparing Local Development Plans (LDP). This includes providing a summary of the action taken to meet Gypsy/Traveller accommodation needs and providing a statement on the steps taken to seeks views of the community, within the Evidence Report that will inform the preparation of the LDP. The Act refers that 'Gypsies and Travellers' has the meaning specified in regulations by the Scottish Ministers and requires that before making such regulations, Scottish Ministers must consult with such persons as they consider appropriate.
A consultation was carried out between December 2021 and March 2022 on proposed new regulations and guidance for Local Development Plans. That consultation proposed to hold a separate consultation on a meaning of 'Gypsies and Travellers' to be specific in regulations. This was to enable targeted involvement of the Gypsy/Traveller community and for the explanation of the specific matters associated with the requirement to be set out.
Objective
This consultation aims to establish a definition of 'Gypsies and Travellers' to inform local authorities on who to consult in preparing the Evidence Report. By consulting members of the community and other relevant bodies, the desired outcome is an accurate and inclusive definition that enables the planning system to better support the needs of Gypsies and Travellers.
Summary of evidence
Racial/ethnic inequalities
According to 2011 census data, Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland, compared to the population as a whole, were less likely to own their own home, more likely to live in a caravan, and more likely to live in overcrowded accommodation
A Houses of Common report on English Gypsies/Travellers highlighted how accessible, affordable legal representation and or mediation should be made available for members of the Gypsy/Traveller community so that they may gain equal access to decision making within planning processes/appeals.
4 out of 5 (77%) of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers have experienced hate speech or a hate crime. This ranged from regularly being subject to racist abuse in public to physical assaults.
Despite the experience of prejudice being so common for Gypsies, Roma and Traveller (GRT) only 1 out of 5 (13%) sought help. GRT people said they felt the police or legal professionals would not help them so saw seeking help "pointless".
Half of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people have experienced discrimination in the workplace. This ranged from being fired once the company learned of their heritage to colleagues refusing to work with them because of their ethnicity.
The dominant coping mechanism Gypsies, Roma and Travellers used when trying to avoid racism was to try and hide their ethnicity (77% said they regularly attempted to hide their ethnicity).
70% of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers said they had experienced prejudice in education, with teachers being mentioned most frequently in the context of perpetuating stereotypes and overlooking bullying and racism
There has been a long-term policy and practice failure to deliver and manage Gypsy and Traveller site in the UK. The resulting shortage of sites manifests itself in unauthorised encampments, weakened community cohesion and expenditure on clearing up and eviction.
More importantly these protected ethnic groups face poorer health, education and employment outcomes and feel marginalised in society. A mutually beneficial outcome would result from appropriate levels of site provision to meet needs.
Good quality sites are provided in some areas, but historically a number of councils have ignored the strategic issue and only use reactive enforcement measures against encampments. In other areas there may be sites, but they are so poorly managed that they are expensive and unsustainable.
National policy and legislation has also not provided the impetus to deliver sufficient sites and is often not enforced.
The change of planning definition of Gypsies and Travellers (in England) has excluded a significant number of Gypsies and Travellers from pitch needs assessments and future provision.
Gypsy Travellers are recognised as an ethnic group. The Equality Act 2010 protects people who are recognised as a distinct ethnic group from being discriminated against on the grounds of ethnicity. The Scottish Government has made a commitment to make sure there is equality for Gypsy Travellers by integrating their needs into policies such as health, education and social services.
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people have the worst outcomes of any ethnic group across a huge range of areas, including education, health, employment, criminal justice and hate crime. Too often local authorities and public services fail to differentiate between different groups who have different needs. Our inquiry has found that, while many inequalities have existed for a long time, there has been a persistent failure by both national and local policy-makers to tackle them in any sustained way. This failure has led to services that are ill-equipped to support Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people to use services that they need and are entitled to.
Socio-economic disadvantages of young Gypsy/Travellers
'We should be consulted about where sites should be', 'We should be part of the planning process to allow us to say what type of sites and facilities we want', and 'There should be more opportunities for us to take part in decision making and have out voices heard'. – Young Gypsy/Travellers discuss the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Evidence shows a distinct lack of safe places to play and opportunities for older young people. The geographical location of sites and the lack of public transport are also barriers which restrict young Gypsy/Travellers access not only to education, but to social and recreational activities. Young Gypsy/Travellers rights to associate and play are also reported as being disproportionately affected due to the lack of safe and suitable spaces for children to play on sites.
Young Gypsy Travellers experience inequalities from an early age. As a result of where they live, the relevance of service provision and/or their experiences of discrimination, children and young people often face:
A lack of access to pre-school, out-of-school and leisure services
Low participation in secondary education with negative experiences/bullying given as the reason for leaving at an early age
Poor and declining educational attainment with low levels of literacy and numeracy
Uncertainty around their accommodation and potentially their relationship with people living in the vicinity
A sense that their needs and identities are not being reflected or met within mainstream services
Substantial negative psychological impact has also been shown in children who experience repeated evictions, family tensions associated with insecure lifestyles and ongoing hostility from the wider population.
There is a general perception that Gypsy/Traveller pupils are more likely to be subjected to bullying and harassment in class and in the playground. Some of this is racist abuse and behaviour. Gypsy/Traveller pupils have indicated that their reluctance to come to school is often associated with the fear or reality of racism and bullying and harassment.
Other demographic evidence
Gypsy/Travellers were more likely than the general population to have a limiting long-term health problem or disability (28 per cent compared to 20 per cent) despite the fact they had a much younger age profile. Within this, they were also more likely to be limited 'a lot' by a long-term health problem or disability (16 per cent compared to 10 per cent).
Local authorities should ensure that Gypsy, Roma and Traveller women have access to a single, trusted contact who provides them with the information and support
they need. Should this contact be from a charitable organisation, local authorities must ensure that the organisation has sufficient funding to sustain the necessary support.
Sources
Briefing: Accomodation issues facing Gypies and Travellers in England
gypsy and travellers 2012.pdf (eis.org.uk)
Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland - A Comprehensive Analysis of the 2011 Census - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Houses of Commons Library: Gypsies and Travellers
I Witness: The UNCRC in Scotland
Summary of assessment findings
The Scottish Government is committed to reducing inequalities for Gypsies/Travellers, whom we regard as a particularly marginalised group.
The Scottish Government's Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Division has led on the preparation of the consultation. A collaborative approach has been adopted in developing the consultation package, with input from the Equality Unit and a secondee with experience working with the Gypsy/Traveller community.
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is a binding international agreement which sets out basic human rights. Key rights relevant to the proposed regulation and consultation relate to a right to free expression, a right to free association, and a right not to be discriminated against. The Human Rights Act (HRA) incorporates the ECHR rights into UK law.
Scotland's National Performance Framework includes the human rights outcome – 'We respect, protect and fulfil human rights and live free from discrimination'. One of the indicators of this relates to 'influence over local decisions' and is measured as the percentage of people who agree with the statement "I can influence decisions affecting my local area". The Scottish Household Survey provides data for this: it shows that in 2019, 17.8% of people agreed with the statement, down from 20.1% in 2018.
The requirement for Local Authorities to seek the views of Gypsies/Travellers when preparing the Evidence Report supports this indicator of influence over local decisions, and providing a comprehensive definition in regulations further embeds this influence for the community by allowing them to be visible, identifiable and empowered in decision making.
The evidence gathered during this assessment provides context for the socio-economic disadvantages that the Gypsy/Traveller community currently faces. It identifies housing disadvantages and site quality as a key factor in the overall inequalities that Gypsies and Travellers face, particularly for young people in the community as it impacts their educational attainment, wellbeing and ability to integrate. While this definition under consultation only applies to the Evidence Reports in preparation of Local Development Plans, it seeks to uplift and empower Gypsies and Travellers to engage with the planning system and thus voice their housing needs to be fulfilled.
To identify any potential improvements, we are undertaking a consultation on the proposed definition. At the same time we are also consulting and inviting views on this Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment and associated impact assessments (covering other societal matters) and interim Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment.
We will consider the comments received when finalising the definition of 'Gypsies and Travellers' within overall development planning regulations. We will also finalise the assessment in response to comments received and publish a revised assessment with the finalised regulations and guidance.
Sign off: Fiona Simpson
Job Title: Chief Planner
Contact
Email: LDPRegsandGuidance@gov.scot
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