This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Equal opportunity inquiry into gypsies/travellers
05/12/2001
Discrimination and harassment suffered by
Gypsies/Travellers in Scotland will not be tolerated, the
Deputy Social Justice Minister, Margaret Curran told
Parliament today.
Speaking at a Parliamentary debate on a report by the
Equal Opportunities Committee into Gypsies/Travellers and
public sector policies, Ms Curran welcomed the report and
stressed that the Executive is committed to finding ways to
improve services for Gypsies/Travellers.
A number of the report's recommendations involved issues
of housing. Ms Curran highlighted the introduction of a
regulatory framework which will make local authorities more
accountable for the provision of accommodation for
Gypsies/Travellers.
She said:
"The Executive recognises that the provision of safe and
appropriate accommodation is a basic human need.
Communities Scotland (previously Scottish Homes and now
directly accountable to Ministers) will conduct a study
into the provision of sites which will bring to light
examples of good practice and identify areas of weakness. A
core standard has been set for regulating local authority
sites and this will be regulated by Communities Scotland. I
believe that this is a significant development that will
make local authorities more accountable for the provision
of accommodation for Gypsies/Travellers".
Ms Curran also announced that as part of improving
understanding of the needs of Gypsies/Travellers, the
Executive plans to hold a seminar which will be hosted by
Communities Scotland.
She said:
"The seminar will be aimed at encouraging community
links between central government, local government,
Gypsies/Travellers and other organisations. It will take
place early next year and will have the central objective
of driving up the quality of local provision, in line with
national aims and standards".
Turning her attention to the crucial area of educational
provision for Gypsy/Traveller children, she said:
"The Executive has promised to put children at the heart
of policy making and we intend to live up to this promise.
We recognise the need to support local authorities with
their statutory responsibilities and we do this through
various means. We fund and encourage the work of the
Scottish Traveller Education Programme, the Centre for
Racial Equality in Scotland, the Anti-Bullying Network, the
Scottish School Ethos Network and the Childline
Anti-Bullying Helpline. We are committed to the educational
needs of young Gypsies/Travellers, particularly those of
secondary school age and will be considering what else
needs to be done nationally to support local authorities in
addresses the issues".
Concluding the debate, Ms Curran acknowledged that there
are still difficult issues to take forward and stressed the
need to work in consultation with the Gypsy/Traveller
communities themselves.
The standard which has been set by Communities Scotland
for regulating local authority sites states "we plan and
provide or arrange good quality, service stopping places
for Gypsies/Travellers. We let pitches in a way that
ensures fair and open access for all. We take
Gypsies/Travellers' views into account in delivering our
services, and we are responsive to their needs".
The Scottish Executive's response to the 37
recommendations made by the Equal Opportunities
Committee is on the Scottish Executive website.
The Scottish Executive Development Department returns
show an average of around 500 traveller households (2000
people) on sites or in encampments across Scotland. Some
travellers are known to have settled more or less
permanently in houses and there are no reliable figures for
the numbers of settled travellers.
Local authority sites provide around 560 pitches on
35 sites for travellers, of which two thirds are
consistently let.