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Section 1: Introduction
The Ninth Advisory Committee
1.1 This is the end of term report of the ninth Advisory Committee. The Committee was appointed by the Secretary of State for Scotland in early 1998 for a term of office until the end of 1999.
Remit
1.2 The remit of the Advisory Committee was to advise the Secretary of State on issues relating to Travelling People and, in particular to:
- make recommendations for the future role of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) and local authorities with regard to provision for Travellers and to ensure a co-ordinated approach throughout Scotland;
- advise local authorities on appropriate ways to secure adequate provision of sites for Travelling People during the final phase of the Scottish Office (now the Scottish Executive) Development Department capital grant scheme;
- encourage effective management of official sites;
- liaise with local authorities and other agencies on the social needs of Travellers; in particular to encourage the use and expansion of educational and health facilities by and for Travellers;
- identify any need for further guidance on any aspect relating to Travelling People and to recommend how that need might best be met.
Committee Membership
1.3 The Committee has been able to draw on experience and knowledge of issues affecting Travellers from a number of differing perspectives. Its nine members, four male and five female (Appendix A), cover a number of relevant sectors, including education, housing, law, management and social research and direct work with Travellers. Four members of the Committee come from a Travelling background, two with direct working experience in the provision of services to Travellers, one with experience of showground issues, and one being a founder member of the very first Committee.
Context
1.4 The remit for the ninth term reflects the facts that the Committee was appointed at a time of change. Ever since 1971, when the Committee was first established, its advisory role has been closely linked to the Development Department's grant scheme whereby local authorities can apply for a grant to build sites for Travelling People. There have been two particular areas where successive committees have advised on:
- the setting of targets for the provision of pitches in local authority areas (with Development Department grants being available to enable them to meet these targets);
- the policy of toleration and non-harassment of Travellers; (briefly, this means that where there is a shortfall in pitches for Travellers in relation to the pitch target, unauthorised encampments of fewer than 12 caravans should not be moved on).
1.5 In 1997 Ministers decided, with the support of the Eighth Term Committee, that the grant scheme should be wound up. The scheme had been successful in providing over thirty sites for Travellers, but by 1997 it was apparent that applications from local authorities were drying up. It was therefore decided that there should be one further and final extension of the grant scheme with authorities being given until the end of December 1998 to apply for a grant.
1.6 The Committee recognised at the outset that its re-appointment, within the context of the winding-up of the grant scheme, meant that it had to consider the future for both pitch targets and the toleration and non-harassment policy. The Committee has addressed these issues in section 5. In addition the Committee recognised that the winding-up of the grant scheme called into question the need for a future committee. The Committee's view on this subject is set out in section 12.
1.7 In addition to involvement with the site provision programme, the Committee's work has included the provision of ad hoc advice and support to a number of organisations and individuals concerned with the provision of services to Travellers throughout Scotland. While there have been promising developments within the voluntary sector concerning issues affecting Travellers, there is still not a cohesive or co-ordinated approach covering the whole of Scotland. Until now, only successive Advisory Committees have been able to fulfil that role in their dealings with various agencies.
Working Groups
1.8 Throughout the two-year term, members have met as a full Committee on eight occasions. A number of working groups were also set up, which met on a further twenty-eight occasions (The Chairs for these groups are indicated in Appendix A). Additionally, Committee members have also attended other meetings with local authorities concerning individual issues and have been called upon for assistance and advice by other bodies, e.g. police authorities.
1.9 The working groups and their remits were as follows:
Sites
To assist in taking forward the development of sites in terms of the grant scheme and to advise authorities as necessary on management issues.
Health
To investigate Traveller needs from a health perspective and to make recommendations to the health authorities as to how these matters should be taken forward.
Education
To follow up the recommendations of the eighth report.
Research and Information
To progress the various items of research in which the Advisory Committee is involved - in particular the survey of Traveller views and the biannual count.
Voluntary Agencies
To meet and consult voluntary agencies working with Travellers in keeping with the Compact between the Scottish Executive and the voluntary sector.
Liaison with the Police, Travelling Site Managers' Association and CoSLA
To further links with CoSLA, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and the Travelling Site Managers' Association (TSMA). To examine relationships with the statutory sector with a view to establishing close links capable of sustaining co-ordination and liaison following the end of the Committee's term of office.
End of Term Report
The full Committee has taken part in this working group in order to determine both the end of term report and the recommendations for future provision and co-ordination of services to Travellers throughout Scotland.
The Role of the Committee Since 1971
1.10 There has been a tendency, both on the part of previous Committees and of the audiences at which their work and advice has been targeted, to see each term of office in isolation. This can give a misleading picture of the long-term impact of the Committee. This was brought home to us during a seminar organised by the ninth Committee in November 1999 as part of the consultation on the Committee's provisional recommendations. Many of those attending were clearly unaware of the length of time over which the Committee has been in existence, the breadth of the Committee's remit over the years ( see Appendix B) and the variety of issues with which it has been involved.
1.11 In this report we deal both with our activities over the last two-year term of office and set out the wider context of the Committees activities since 1971. We have tried to identify those aspects of Traveller life and of policies about which previous Committees have made specific recommendations. The full span of these recommendations over the years is summarised in tabular form ( see Appendix C), grouped by subject areas to emphasise the continuity of concern over the years. Some of the recommendations have been acted upon by those at whom they were targeted. Others, despite appearing in more than one report over the years, have generated no positive response or, indeed, significant interest. In this way we hope that this report will prove a better tool for those with future responsibility in providing support to the Traveller community.
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