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GYPSIES/TRAVELLERS IN SCOTLAND: The Twice-yearly Count - No. 6: July 2004
INTRODUCTION
Since the summer of 1998, each Scottish Council has been asked, on behalf of the Scottish Executive, to undertake a count of Gypsies/Travellers within its area at the end of January and July each year.
Between the major national counts undertaken for the Scottish Office in March and August 1969 and again in the spring of 1992, sporadic counts undertaken by a variety of agencies provided the only other guide to numbers. The current series of twice-yearly counts, already covering seven years, provides the first regular and consistent data on the scale of Scotland's Gypsy/Traveller commun-ities, enabling assessment of consistency or change in their patterns of use of different kinds of stopping places in summer and winter seasons.
This, the sixth summary report in the new series, gives the results of the count in July 2004*.
The report looks in turn at each of three main categories of location used by Gypsies/ Travellers:
- official Council sites;
- privately owned sites;
- unauthorised locations.
Finally, it gives an overview for Scotland as a whole with estimates of total Gypsy/Traveller populations across the three types of location, within the context of similar recent summer counts **.
Tribute is due to staff - particularly site managers - in Scottish Councils, for their efforts in gathering information not only on official and private sites but also scattered, unauthorised locations often in fairly remote areas. Without their assistance this picture of Gypsy/Traveller presence in Scotland could not be created.
To assist interpretation of these summary reports, the introduction to Report No. 4, (July 2003), addressed some of the most important issues to be taken into consideration. These included:
- main terms and assumptions;
- nature and robustness of count data for types of place where Gypsies/Travellers stay;
- estimating total numbers of households in each Council area;
- grossing-up household and person numbers for Scotland as a whole;
- missing returns and data imputation to allow year on year comparisons.
* As well as being available in this printed format, this summary, together with those for January and July 2002 and January and July 2003 can be found on the Scottish Executive Social Research web-site ( www.scotland.gov.uk/socialresearch). A comprehensive report on the first three years of the counts (Research Consultancy Services, The Twice-yearly Count of Travellers in Scotland : The First Three Years, Scottish Executive Central Research Unit, December 2001) is also on this web-site or is available in printed form from the Scottish Executive Social Research Unit.
** It should be noted at the outset that the twice yearly counts do not include those Gypsies/Travellers who, over the years, have moved into conventional private and social housing for long periods or even permanently but still regard themselves as part of the Gypsy/Traveller communities. At the same time, it must be recognised that, as some of these households may still travel for short periods from time to time, their presence may be reflected in any of three categories of stopping place, particularly in summer counts. This group of Gypsies/Travellers did not fall within the remit of the 1969 or 1992 national studies and though widely varying estimates of the numbers involved have been suggested by various sources from time to time none has ever been validated. |
The main points from this are summarised below or referred to within the main text (copies of the July 2003 report can be obtained from the Scottish Executive Social Research Unit or viewed on the Scottish Executive website,www.scotland.gov.uk/socialresearch).
By their nature, each category of location generates different levels of information detail and data robustness. This is referred to briefly under the sections dealing with each category.
Many tenants on Council sites now live for increasing periods on the same site but, as a whole, the Gypsy/Traveller communities are still based around a full or partly-mobile lifestyle and a significant proportion is still on the road for all or most of the year. Attempting to count such communities has always been a somewhat inexact science. Nevertheless, each level of data discussed under individual section headings is important in its own right and, via a structured return form, helps create a picture of overall numbers of Scotland's Gypsy/Traveller communities at different seasons.
Even though robust data on household numbers is only available for the Council sites, it is possible to estimate numbers on privately-owned sites and unauthorised encampments by applying a rough but consistent rule of thumb measure of one caravan equating with one household. Similarly, mean household size data available from Council sites can be applied to these other types of location to generate estimates of total numbers of people.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS - The July 2004 count recorded a total of 259 households on Council sites, 146 on privately-owned sites and 178 using unauthorised locations.
- The total Gypsy/Traveller population estimated in July 2004 was 583 households or approximately1960 people.
- Of the 37 sites provided by Councils, 31 were 'all-year (active)'; 3 were 'seasonal (i.e. open only during the summer months)'; 3 were 'all-year (closed)' (one closed since 1996, one since 1998 and the third since the end of September 2003).
- On the 34 'active' Council sites, including the three seasonal sites, 336 out of 537 possible pitches were let.
- Four out of five let pitches were occupied at the time of the count, the other tenants being temporarily absent.
- Just over a quarter of active Council sites had all their pitches let.
- About two out of three tenants on Council sites had been based there for more than a year, the great majority of these for more than two years.
- Just under a fifth of the lettable pitches on active Council sites had changed hands over the preceding six months.
- With a total of 876 people recorded on Council sites, the average household size was 3.4, ranging from 1.3 to 7.4. Older people continue to account for little over five per cent of the total population.
- Eleven Councils identified privately-owned sites available for Gypsies/ Travellers. Of 17 identified sites, half were said to be available all year with all but one of the others being available only in the summer months.
- Seven of the privately-owned sites were operated specifically for Gypsies/Travellers, the others being holiday or touring sites which occasionally accept them at particular times of the year.
- A total of 146 households were recorded as occupying privately-owned sites, four out of five of these being classified as long-stay (four weeks or more).
- Twenty-five out of 31 Councils indicated that unauthorised encampment by Gypsies/Travellers occurs within their areas, either regularly or occasionally. At the time of the count, of 122 identifiable locations, 36 were occupied by a total of 178 households.
- The figures generated by the count for each of the three categories of location remain broadly consistent with the means of the preceding six summer counts, suggesting that, read in conjunction with the equivalent January counts of the same period, they are now a reliable guide to Gypsy/Traveller numbers in Scotland in both summer and winter seasons.
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