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GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING UNAUTHORISED CAMPING BY GYPSIES/TRAVELLERS IN SCOTLAND
CHAPTER 2 DEVELOPING A STRATEGY FOR UNAUTHORISED CAMPING
17. In order to take effective, appropriate and proportionate action where there is unauthorised camping, local authorities and the local police force need to be clear on their strategy and protocol, on who will take the lead and who else will be involved. The strategy must be developed with the involvement of all key stakeholders and must seek to balance the rights and responsibilities of the Gypsy/Traveller and settled communities.
18. The suggested stages involved in developing a strategy are: setting the aims and objectives; gathering information; formulating the strategy; consulting with stakeholders and making any necessary adjustments to the strategy; implementation; allocating resources; communicating the strategy to all relevant stakeholders and communities; and monitoring/evaluating its effectiveness.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
19. Possible objectives for strategies for managing unauthorised encampments include the following:
- Being able to plan ahead to minimise problems and to avoid the need to respond on a crisis basis (the evidence gathering stage could assist here)
- Ensuring that the needs and legitimate expectations of all parties (Gypsies/Travellers, landowners and the settled community) are considered
- Setting a framework within which clear, consistent and appropriate decisions can be made in a transparent manner
- Ensuring a fit with all relevant legislation (e.g. Equal Opportunities and human rights)
- Linking the approach to unauthorised camping to other strategies and policies that affect Gypsies/Travellers (not just housing and the provision of sites/stopping places, but also health, education)
- Involving all those with an interest in developing and implementing the strategy
- Clarifying roles and responsibilities of public bodies, stakeholders and communities
- Ensuring that the policies and approaches reflect the human rights of both the settled and Gypsy/Traveller communities
- Ensuring the prevention of anti-social behaviour, regardless of who the perpetrators are, and effective enforcement against perpetrators
FORMULATING THE STRATEGY
20. Local authorities are expected to take the lead role in formulating the strategy and have responsibility for monitoring its implementation, ensuring that the process is driven forward. The process of producing the strategy involves a number of key stages and these might include:
- Appoint lead officer
- Set up a strategy working group, with adequate support/resources and ensuring liaison with other services and, where possible, the active involvement of local Gypsies/Travellers
- Ensure key players are involved in the strategy working group (see Annex D for stakeholders who might be involved)
- Set up consultation procedures/mechanisms
- Ensure consistency with other strategies
- Review information from evidence gathering stage on the assessment of needs, existing provision and gaps in services/provision
- Plan new services/improve existing ones, through joint working
- Implement programme
- Monitor/evaluate/review
Box 2 - examples of good practice in setting up a well-resourced, inclusive working group
Stirling Council's multi-agency liaison group was set up in 1996 and includes representatives from LA departments as well as the site manager, the police, health and the Aberlour Trust. Residents are invited to meetings of the multi-agency group and minutes are pinned on the site notice board.
Aberdeen Council participates in an inter-agency group along with Aberdeenshire Council, Grampian police,, the health sector, the Traveller Education and Information Project, the local primary school and local community councils. The Group has launched its first Action Plan, following consultation with Gypsies/Travellers.
Highland Council set up a Highland-wide Gypsy/Traveller Partnership Group in 2000, with representatives from the NHS; housing, education and social work services; the police; Save the Children; the Lochaber Gypsy/Traveller Forum and local Gypsy/Travellers.
ELEMENTS FOR INCLUSION IN THE STRATEGY
21. There are a number of elements that could be included in the strategy and these are set out in more detail in the following paragraphs:
- legislative background (see Annex B for a summary)
- local information on which strategy is based
- protocols for sharing information, subject to compliance with data protection legislation or when required to protect children
- approach to be taken on site provision (permanent sites and short-stay stopping places)
- policy to be followed when unauthorised camping takes place, setting out alternative courses of action and the circumstances that determine that action (see Chapter 4)
- working arrangements and protocols for the involvement of different agencies
- resources required
- arrangement for communicating and consulting on the strategy
- arrangements for monitoring the strategy
- involvement of other local authority services, to ensure a holistic approach
- protocols with neighbouring authorities regarding sharing of information about 'moving on' of unauthorised encampments
- to whom the term Gypsy/Travellers relates
- the responsibilities of different authorities and agencies
Local Information
22. The starting point for a local strategy should include information on the characteristics of Gypsies/Travellers who reside in or are likely to travel through an area. This might include information on numbers, travelling patterns, reasons for stopping at an encampment, accommodation needs, as well as health/welfare/education needs. The twice yearly count, referred to in paragraph 15, can provide a starting point for this. Other potential sources include information from the monitoring of unauthorised encampments, information from managers of permanent sites and from Gypsies/Travellers themselves through local liaison groups.
23. The collection of information on the location of encampments, numbers of caravans/vehicles involved and the duration of each encampment would be useful for planning services and assessing needs.
Box 3 - examples of gathering information at a local level and engaging Gypsies/Travellers
Aberdeenshire Council - Gypsies/Travellers regularly attend committee meetings of the Travellers Education and Information Project (TEIP), which in turn participates in the council's multi-agency group. The council considers that TEIP is in a good position to gather information and to involve Gypsies/Travellers in discussions.
South Lanarkshire - residents at one site have recently formed a residents' group which is included by the council on its list of standard Council consultees along with Registered Tenant Organisations. The council recently held an Equal Opportunity seminar in partnership with Gypsies/Travellers, which was also attended by council staff, police and other partner agencies.
City of Edinburgh Council's Gypsy/Traveller Multi Agency Working Group (GTMAWG) is the primary mechanism for consulting with the Gypsy/Traveller community in Edinburgh. To encourage this, the group has adopted a thematic approach to meetings based on the 37 recommendations in the Scottish Parliament's Equal Opportunity Committee Report. An item on 'local concerns' has been added to the agenda to enable the Gypsy/Traveller community to have a direct input. Much of the work on gathering information has been undertaken through the voluntary sector.
Sharing Information
24. Sharing information between partner agencies and across local authority boundaries can help particularly when looking at travelling patterns and considering site provision. Where they don't already exist, protocols will have to be developed to deal with issues of professional confidentiality and data protection, taking account of the need for agencies to share information if needed to protect children.
Site Provision
25. The provision of suitable accommodation for Gypsies/Travellers is an essential element in the strategy for managing unauthorised camping, by providing an alternative to unauthorised encampments. Local authorities are now expected to address accommodation needs of Gypsies/Travellers in their Local Housing Strategy. Site provision can be provided publicly or privately and can take the form of residential sites providing long-term settled accommodation or stopping places for short-term stays. The local strategy for managing unauthorised camping will be linked to the extent of provision of sites/short-stay stopping places in the area. Please note that for the purposes of this paper, the term 'short-stay' supersedes terms such as 'transit site', which has negative connotations for the Gypsy/Traveller community.
26. Local authorities that experience unauthorised camping should review the provision of authorised sites, whatever form they take, and should examine why vacant pitches on sites are not being used by Gypsies/Travellers on unauthorised encampments. This should be done in collaboration with neighbouring authorities to avoid double counting and to highlight cross boundary issues.
Box 4 - examples of action to consider taking when there is adequate permanent site provision and/or unused pitches on existing sites
Angus Council often has vacancies on one of their permanent sites, but will be investigating why Gypsies/Travellers on unauthorised encampments don't want to go to the permanent site.
Fife Council intends to supplement its permanent sites with a number of short stay sites. At present, even if there are unused pitches on existing sites, unauthorised encampments are accommodated. Fife Council will review their Co-operation Policy for managing unauthorised encampments when pitch provisions have been met through the short stay sites.
Working Arrangements and Protocols
27. The local authority should be the lead agency in managing unauthorised camping in its area, with named officers being identified in each local authority and the local police force. It is important that all key stakeholders, including the Gypsy/Traveller community in particular, know who these officers are. Other departments and organisations likely to be involved should be identified, with a list of named contact officers in each stakeholder body. Responsibilities for managing unauthorised camping should be recognised within the job descriptions and work loads of these officers. Regular liaison meetings involving representatives from all stakeholder organisations, including Gypsies/Travellers, will encourage good working relationships to develop and will provide an opportunity to discuss current issues and review arrangements as necessary. Joint training events can also help develop working relationships.
Box 5 - examples of joint working with local police forces
Aberdeen City Council has involved Grampian Police in developing the Council's policy on managing unauthorised encampments, through active participation in working groups. Grampian police have run briefing sessions for councillors on the Policing Strategy.
Glasgow Council has worked in partnership with Strathclyde Police to draft procedures for managing small unauthorised encampments. The management of these encampments relies on joint work between council staff and officers from Strathclyde Police.
East Lothian Council's Joint Forum presented a series of workshops 'Working with Gypsies/Travellers' to a range of council staff and the police. The workshops were led by members of the Gypsy/Traveller Community and facilitated by Save the Children. Follow up sessions are being considered.
Resources involved in Managing Unauthorised Encampments
28. Local authorities should apply Best Value principles to the consideration of the resources required for managing unauthorised camping. This would include:
- identifying what they are spending at present on dealing with this (responding to complaints, clearing rubbish etc)
- estimating the costs borne by others (local businesses and landowners)
- considering whether there are indirect costs of unauthorised camping e.g. additional costs to health and education
- comparing these with the possible costs and benefits of improving site provision, where appropriate (including short-stay)
Communicating the Strategy
29. The strategy for unauthorised camping should be published and widely disseminated to local businesses, residents and Gypsy/Traveller groups, making clear who is responsible for what elements of the strategy. It is also important to make clear what can be achieved and the timescale for doing so, to avoid raising unrealistic expectations about what the strategy can deliver. Mechanisms for communicating the strategy can include information leaflets and local authority websites, as well as more user friendly approaches and appropriate formats. Media handling arrangements and strategies should also be considered.
Monitoring the Strategy
30. Monitoring arrangements need to be planned as an integral part of the strategy and it would make sense for the local authority, as lead agency, to take responsibility, reporting back to the strategy working group. This should identify progress towards meeting the objectives of the strategy, but could also include monitoring how protocols and arrangements for partnership working are evolving and how they could be revised and improved. This should also include feedback from Gypsies/Travellers, using appropriate mechanisms.
A Holistic Approach
31. Developing a strategic approach towards managing unauthorised camping provides an opportunity for local authorities and others to consider policies for Gypsies/Travellers in a holistic manner, whilst promoting respect and equality. Relevant policy areas include land planning, housing, environmental health, education, health care, equality and social inclusion. The new guidance on integrated children's services plans asks local authorities and their planning partners to take a holistic approach to planning for children's services including social work services, education, health and youth justice. Services for "children in need" should be included in these plans. Children and young people from the Gypsy/Traveller communities are included in the indicative list of "children in need" included in the guidance.
Box 6 - examples of other LA strategies that link into and inform the strategy on unauthorised camping
Aberdeen City - Race Equality Strategy; local housing strategy; homelessness strategy; Joint Health Improvement Plan and the Education Department's multi-cultural and anti-racist policy.
Renfrewshire Council refers to the needs of Gypsies/Travellers in a number of strategies, for example Equal Opportunities in Service Delivery; Local Housing Strategy; Race Equality Action Plan; the Community Plan and the Social Inclusion Plan.
Fife Council - Fife Children's Service Plan; local housing strategy; Equality strategy and Joint Health Improvement Plan
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