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Scottish Executive Response to the Equal Opportunities Committee Report 2001Inquiry Into Gypsy Travellers And Public Sector PoliciesRECOMMENDATION 1 Capitalisation of the term Gypsy Traveller, or Gypsy and Traveller where used separately, should be adopted in all official minutes and reports by the Scottish Parliament the Scottish Executive, local authorities and other public bodies. Captialisation of the term Gypsy Traveller, or Gypsy and Traveller where the terms are used separately, is already standard practice in the Scottish Executive. Unless the context otherwise requires, in this response Travellers includes Gypsy Travellers. From the evidence taken by the Committee and other sources the Scottish Executive respects an individual self-asserted identity. RECOMMENDATION 2 All legislation and policies should be framed on the understanding that Gypsy Travellers have distinct ethnic characteristics and should therefore be regarded as an ethnic group, until such time as a court decision is made on recognition as a racial group under the Race Relations Act 1976. The Scottish Executive is committed to equality opportunity for all. Working within the broad definition of equal opportunities in the Scotland Act 1998 and as part of its mainstreaming equality approach, the Scottish Executive will look to build Travellers as a group in its own work. RECOMMENDATION 3 Gypsy Travellers should be clearly identified as a specific community of interest in the implementation of the Equality Strategy, following which, it is recommended that:
Travellers should also be considered on the same terms as other groups in the community involvement mechanisms of the community planning process.
The Scottish Executive is currently conducting a review of funding for the minority ethnic voluntary sector. Travellers were included in consultation road-shows and in written consultation. Volunteer Development Scotland is currently undertaking a minority ethnic volunteering project, funded by the Scottish Executive.
There are 2 projects aimed at helping Travellers funded through the New Futures Fund. This programme provides intensive support and help for young unemployed people, primarily in the 16-34 age group, who suffer from serious disadvantages when looking for work. The Traveller's Project, helps develop employment skills for Travellers in Glasgow and surrounding areas whilst the Scottish Gypsy Traveller Association project in Fife provides information on education or training opportunities, support candidates in training and integrate and access mainstream training and employment provision. The Scottish Executive recognises the voluntary sector as a key social partner and that minority ethnic voluntary organisations have a part to play in creating a fair and just society. The Black and Minority Ethnic Funding Review will ensure that appropriate funding mechanisms are put in place to achieve this. RECOMMENDATION 4 New provision or site improvement programmes should be developed in consultation with Gypsy Travellers and representative organisations, on issues of location, design, facilities and services: The Scottish Executive grant scheme for local authority site provision has now been wound up after being in existence for nearly 30 years. Following local government re-organisation in 1996, and a decline in applications, all councils were given one last chance, until december 1998, to apply for a grant to build or upgrade a site for Travellers. Local authorities will be expected to use their own resources for any future site provision. Local Travellers should be consulted about any new site provision. Guidance to local authorities, issued by the former Advisory Committee on Scotland's Travelling People, suggests establishing working groups which include representatives from local community groups, Travellers, the health authority, local police and local authority departments.
Amenity units are intended to be used for washing and lavatory purposes but not for cooking. The units are subject to building standards regulations but not to the housing standards in the regulations as the units are not houses.
The provision of community services and facilities on sites is a matter for local authorities.
Travellers are not subject to normal tenancy rules and landlords already have discretion on what periods of occupation can count for right to buy purposes. The temporary nature of Travellers circumstances would make granting of property rights, such as succession, problematic. RECOMMENDATION 5 Scottish Homes as the new Executive Agency will have responsibility for the regulation of local authority services for Gypsy Travellers. This role should include:
The Scottish Executive issued draft guidance on the preparation of Local Housing Strategies in July 2001. This includes guidance on the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers.
The regulator will not have responsibility for development funding. As indicated in response to recommendation 4, authorities will be expected to use their own resources for new site provision and upgrading.
Scottish Homes has recently consulted on its proposals (published May 2001) for regulating registered social landlords and the housing related functions of local authorities. The proposals will include regulating the provision and management of sites for Travellers. Scottish Homes is liasing with representative bodies and other stakeholders on how this will be implemented and is conducting pilot inspections to test the proposals. Account will be taken of issues raised in the Committee report relating to access, participation and service quality in designing the inspection process. RECOMMENDATION 6 The definition of "home" for the purposes of future amendments to housing legislation should be reconsidered to include sites, which are homes to Gypsy Travellers. Such recognition and redefinition would facilitate:
There are no plans to review alternative arrangements around the provision of sites for Travellers. Local authorities, in view of their long-term role in community planning, their strategic role in housing, and their provision of services to Travellers, are well placed to run and provide sites for Travellers.
A model tenancy agreement has already been developed by the former Advisory Committee on Scotland's Travelling People. This is contained in the Guidance for Site Management, which was issued January 1998 and is still valid. RECOMMENDATION 7 A review should be undertaken by local authorities and the Executive Agency of the key role of site managers in providing support and information services for site residents, including job description, person specification, recruitment and training. Site managers play an essential role in providing support and information services for site residents. The Guidance on Site Management, prepared by the former Advisory Committee on Scotland’s Travelling People, contains guidance on job profiles and training. Alongside this, the Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland and the Travellers Site Managers Association jointly run training courses. RECOMMENDATION 8 Appointment by local authorities of a designated Gypsy Traveller Liaison Officer (GTLO) (a role separate from but requiring close working with site managers) is recommended. The role of the GTLO would develop information and support services for Gypsy Travellers in the local area and appropriate mechanisms for consultation. A survey of Travellers called Moving On - A Survey of Travellers’ Views, was undertaken by the Scottish Executive/Scottish Homes in 1999 and showed that Travellers tended to use informal networks for access to information and advice, including family and friends and Traveller support workers. Local authorities are best placed to decide whether to appoint a Liaison Officer. RECOMMENDATION 9 Private sites should be subject to the regulations and standards applicable to local authority sites. The monitoring and enforcement of these standards by local authorities should include consultation with and participation by site users. Private site owners, some of whom are Travellers themselves, should be encouraged to run their sites in accordance with the Guidance on Site Management, issued by the former Advisory Committee on Scotland's Travelling People in January 1998, and any future guidance issued by Scottish Homes as regulator of local authority sites. RECOMMENDATION 10 Local planning authorities should be required to identify the need for Gypsy Traveller site provision and land for sites in statutory [land use] plans, using Community Planning frameworks, which include Gypsy Travellers. The current review of National Planning Policy Guideline 3: Land for Housing will consider how far Land Use planning can play a role in the identification and development of sites for Travellers taking account of needs assessed through community plans and local housing strategies. RECOMMENDATION 11 National good practice guidance for local authorities and police forces on the management of unauthorised camping should be developed, based on a clearly articulated national policy taking into account the Scottish legislative context and in consultation with all stakeholders. Guidance should include:
In its final report, published in November 2000, the Advisory Committee on Scotland's Travelling People set out guidelines for dealing with unauthorised encampments. The guidelines are intended to be used by local authorities and local police forces, in preparation of their own local strategies. They cover issues such as the provision of facilities and the need to develop a written policy. RECOMMENDATION 12 Gypsy Travellers should be identified as an ethnic group in policies on racial harassment and be included in related training and awareness raising for all those involved in the provision of housing. In the absence of clarification of the legal status of Travellers as an ethnic group, the Scottish Executive is committed to a safe and fair Scotland where individuals and communities are free from crime and free from the fear of crime. The Scottish Executive would encourage those responsible for developing and implementing policies on racial harassment to have regard to the particular experiences and circumstances of Travellers. RECOMMENDATION 13 The impact of allocation policies on the needs and lifestyle of Gypsy Travellers applying for social housing should be reviewed. Specific issues relating to Gypsies and Travellers should be included in local homelessness strategies. The Scottish Executive will consider this for future research in the area of inclusion and allocation policies. Local authorities will be required to prepare strategies for preventing and alleviating homelessness within their areas. The specific needs of particular groups, and the best way of meeting these needs, should be considered within the strategies and guidance will highlight this requirement. RECOMMENDATION 14 The aims and objectives of the single regulatory framework for Scottish Homes, as the new Executive Agency, should include working with:
This should be undertaken in consultation with Gypsy Travellers, with reference to innovative developments elsewhere in the UK and Europe. This recommendation refers to the role of Scottish Homes as regulator, and to the preparation of Local Housing Strategies by local authorities. Our comments on these are provided in response to recommendation 5. The Scottish Executive is aware that four pilot schemes for the provision of group housing are being taken forward by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and are programmed for completion within the next three years. The Scottish Executive will keep this initiative under review. RECOMMENDATION 15 Existing funding arrangements should be reviewed to support school and pre-school by providing additional resources where Gypsy Traveller access school education such as:
The Childcare Strategy for Scotland, published in May 1998, commits the Scottish Executive to improving and expanding the availability, accessibility and quality of childcare and pre-school education. Local authorities have been allocated a key role in the development of services and Scottish Executive funding is being channelled through them. Each authority will have their own approach to the development of both pre-school education services and affordable childcare, they have also been asked to plan development locally in consultation with the Childcare Partnership, whose membership will represent a wide range of childcare interests. Local authorities have been allocated resources in the current year to enable an expansion in the supply of pre-school education and childcare places and to support the ongoing operation of existing facilities. However it is for local authorities to determine priorities for supporting provision in their area, reflecting the needs of local communities. From April 2002 local authorities will be under a duty - under section 32 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 - to provide education to all eligible pre-school children which will include Traveller children. Current local authority expenditure on services, including education, is underpinned by substantial financial support from the Scottish Executive. There are established procedures under which the relative expenditure needs of authorities are determined each year. It is for local authorities to determine the detailed spending allocations for particular services within the total resources available to them. Accordingly, local authorities are responsible for the allocation of school budgets and have considerable flexibility in how those budgets are set. This allows for account to be taken of the needs of Traveller children in the light of local circumstances.
Education legislation gives authorities considerable discretion in the provision of transport between home and school for all pupils attending schools under their management. Accordingly, it is for the local authorities to consider specific issues over the provision of school transport for pupils, including Traveller children.
Education legislation ensures that education authorities have a duty to provide assistance when a pupil cannot receive education because of inadequate clothing. The criteria for assistance and the individual level of clothing grants are entirely at the discretion of the education authorities. All the issues covered by this recommendation are areas in which local authorities have considerable discretion to respond to local circumstances. It is therefore the responsibility of the local authorities to consider the education needs of Traveller children in the light of relevant legislative provisions. RECOMMENDATION 16 Whilst access to the core curriculum and the development of literacy and numeracy skills remains essential at the secondary level, more flexible provision in relation to vocational and work based learning should be considered for older children and young people, in consultation with Gypsy Travellers. The national priorities in school education have been defined by Ministers and there are five national priorities. National priority three relates to issues of inclusion and equality by promoting equality and providing help to ensure every pupil benefits from education. Local authorities have a statutory duty to produce improvement plans which outline how they are meeting the national priorities. Schools will also have a duty to produce development plans, in consultation with pupils and parents. As part of this process local authorities must also make a more general statement on how they will promote equal opportunities. National priority five has a heading of Learning for Life which has the aim of equipping pupils with the foundation skills, attitudes and expectations necessary to prosper in a changing society and to encourage creativity and ambition. Crucially, it is for local authorities and schools to decide how they will implement these national priorities. They will do so taking local circumstances and needs into account. As a first step, Scottish Enterprise Network and Highlands and Islands Enterprise could be encouraged to work with the Scottish Gypsy Travellers Association to raise awareness and to identify areas of training that might be appropriate. In response to the Beattie Committee, the Scottish Executive has made £15.1 million available for multi-agency inclusiveness projects to improve skills and employability of young people who require additional support. The projects, co-ordinated by the careers service companies, will develop key worker support for vulnerable young people and will improve the identification of learning and support needs and tracking of progress. The Scottish Executive will ask the Inclusiveness Projects to consider the needs of young people from the travelling community in accessing further education, training and employment. Skillseekers is a national training programme for 16-24 year olds. It provides a valid route to work-based training combined with study for a Scottish Vocational Qualification up to Level 3. Skillseekers is an equal opportunities programme and therefore Travellers would be eligible for funding provided they meet the other criteria applied to all individuals. As funding follows the individual, the fact that Travellers frequently relocate their homes should not make it more difficult for them to access and re-enter training therefore Scottish Vocational Qualifications Levels 1 and 2 could be an appropriate resource for Travellers. Entry to Modern Apprenticeships may be more difficult as employed status is required. The 'Opportunities for Us Project' in Fife provides a good example of where young Travellers are undergoing introductory Scottish Vocational Qualification and work-based or related training. This practice could be developed elsewhere to provide a broad range of training and Scottish Vocational Qualifications some of which would be especially useful for Travellers, for example maintaining their own site safety though health & safety, plumbing, electrical training etc. Recommendation 17 Alternative approaches to school education should be explored, where needs are identified in consultation with Gypsy Travellers, including;
Education authorities are not legally obliged to provide any support or resources for families who choose to educate their children at home (though of course they may choose to do so). However, where an authority has agreed that there are circumstances in which a particular child's needs cannot be catered for in a school, they should make provision for that child's education in other ways. Draft guidance will be issued shortly for consultation on a range of issues that relate to the circumstances in which parents may choose to educate their children at home; Scottish Travellers Education Programme (STEP) will be included in that consultation. RECOMMENDATION 18 Research and good practice guidance on how schools engage with parents and welcome them into schools, for example through teacher contact, PTA’s and Governing Boards. Some general research on parental involvement is currently being undertaken by the Scottish Executive, but the scope of that project does not include issues specifically associated with Travellers. Further research on involving parents and in particular on involving Traveller parents, will be considered as part of the Education Department’s research programme against other research priorities. RECOMMENDATION 19 The role of the education system in promoting good relations between the Gypsy Traveller and settled communities should be acknowledged and supported by education authorities by the Scottish Executive Education Department. Guidelines on initial teacher training and Continuing Professional Development should clearly identify Gypsy Travellers as an ethnic group in relation to training on equality, social justice and anti-discriminatory practice. The Guidelines for Initial Teacher Education Courses in Scotland, October 1998, constitute current Scottish Executive guidance to the teacher education sector. The guidelines state that Initial Teacher Education courses should be designed so that the student must, at the end of the course, be able to "respond appropriately to gender, social, cultural, linguistic and religious differences among pupils" (competence 2.1.9). Competence 4.7 states that the teacher must "value and promote equality of opportunity and fairness and adopt non-discriminatory practices, in respect of age, disability, gender, race or religion". This is clearly not adequate in that it targets only certain groups to whom non-discrimination should be extended. From autumn 2001 the existing guidelines will be replaced by the Standard for Initial Teacher Education in Scotland: Benchmark Information (October 2000). There will be two ‘expected features’ which relate to inclusion. The first is under benchmark 1.2.1 which states that Initial Teacher Education courses will enable students to "acquire a broad and critical understanding of the principal features of the education system, educational policy and practice." The second expected feature states that students should "demonstrate an understanding of the principles of equality of opportunity and social justice and of the need for anti-discriminatory practices." Benchmark 2.1.3 mimics competence 2.1.9 of the current guidelines as it states that new teachers should be able to "demonstrate the ability to respond appropriately to gender, social, cultural, linguistic and religious differences among pupils". Benchmark 3.3 requires that Initial Teacher Education courses should enable students to "value and demonstrate a commitment to social justice and inclusion." The related expected feature says that students should be able to "demonstrate that they value and promote fairness and justice and adopt anti-discriminatory practices in respect of gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, age, religion and culture." The Scottish Executive Education Department, General Teaching Council Scotland , HM Inspectorates (HMI) and the Teacher Education bodies together are also developing the Standard for Full Registration. This will be the standard against which probationary teachers will be measured for full registration with the General Teaching Council Scotland. This will be issued for consultation soon, and contains complementary competencies to the standard for Initial Teacher Education. The new standards for Initial Teacher Education and full registration do not contain specific reference to Travellers, or indeed to any particular social, ethnic or cultural group. It is felt that any attempt to specifically list those groups to whom anti-discriminatory practice must be extended would, by implication, denote that groups who are not mentioned are not subject to the same protection. This would be counter-productive and is seen as one of the weaknesses of the current Initial Teacher Education guidelines. There are no guidelines for Continuing Professional Development issued by Scottish Executive Education Department at present. However, the Scottish Executive will ensure that a non-discriminatory ethos will underpin all its work in the development of the Continuing Professional Development framework under the auspices of the Ministerial Strategy Committee. RECOMMENDATION 20 Monitoring of anti-bullying strategies, use of the anti-bullying network and Childline, should include Gypsy Travellers as a separate ethnic group. Practical guidance on good practice and training to support schools and teachers should include specific reference to issues relating to Gypsy Traveller children. The Scottish Executive is committed to supporting schools to achieve zero tolerance for all forms of bullying through funding the Anti-Bullying Network and the Scottish Schools Ethos Network. Over the years there has been a range of advice and guidance issued on tackling bullying. The guidance advocates whole school policies aimed at creating a positive learning environment in Scottish schools. The Anti-Bullying Network operates a web-site and a phone service and is developing a series of information sheets. The Scottish Executive is encouraging greater pupil and parent participation to tackle bullying. The Anti-Bullying Network will prepare a leaflet or information sheet to assist the integration of children who join part-way through the term including Traveller Children. RECOMMENDATION 21 Evaluation of pilot projects and examples of good practice relating to adult learning, access to vocational qualifications through community and further education should be disseminated and further developed in consultation with Gypsy Travellers. The Scottish Executive has recently made £9 million of additional funding available over three years for all-age careers guidance projects in Scotland. The 17 Careers Service companies are co-ordinating multi-agency projects for an all-age service in their respective areas; these projects will be taken forward by Careers Scotland on its inception on 1 April 2002. The aim of the all-age projects is to improve existing careers guidance provision by building and strengthening the delivery of adult learning, information and guidance. Careers guidance will now be a comprehensive service available to all throughout their lives regardless of their personal circumstances. The Scottish Executive has already demonstrated its commitment to widening access to further education by providing funding for 40,000 additional further education places to be created by 2002. Particular emphasis was placed on targeting a significant proportion of these additional places at those from disadvantaged groups. The Scottish Executive takes the issue of ensuring that further education services are accessible to all sections of the community, including Travellers, very seriously. The Scottish Executive recognises the needs of Travellers and will be writing to the individual careers service companies and to the Directors of Careers Scotland drawing their attention to this recommendation. Additionally, the Scottish Executive will ensure that the evaluation we have planned for this initiative makes provision for an input from the Traveller community The Scottish Executive will consider, with the Scottish Further Education Funding Council and other agencies, how those who deliver community and further education should best implement this recommendation. RECOMMENDATION 22 Gypsy Travellers should be included as a separate ethnic group in all systematic ethnic monitoring of education services to measure progress in meeting targets, for the educational inclusion of Gypsy Traveller children and improvements in their educational attainment. Performance indicators for school inspections should include specific reference to Gypsy Travellers. The recent HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) report "Alternatives to School Exclusion" could have provided an opportunity to identify such an approach. HMIE stresses the importance of respect, fairness and equality within all forms of educational establishments. This also includes ensuring that anti-bullying and child protection measures are in place. These principles apply to the education of Traveller children and young persons and emphasise equal opportunities. Inspections take into account the quality of support for learning and any appropriate support required to meet the educational needs of all pupils. Quality indicators for self-evaluation by schools and for school inspections are currently being revised. The revised version of 'How good is our school?' will emphasise more explicitly the concepts of equality and fairness. There will be specific references to Traveller children in the footnotes to the quality indicators on 'Meeting pupils' needs' and 'Pastoral care'. RECOMMENDATION 23 Further work is required on developing the information base on Gypsy Traveller children throughout the education system, clearly identified as an ethnic group, so that their needs can be included in strategic planning and policy development. Data about the achievements of particular ethnic groups, including Travellers, are currently patchy, but recent developments may serve to improve the position. The Review of Assessment for Pre-school and 5-14 and subsequent consultation recognised the importance of accurate records for individual pupils to record progress and achievements, to identify next steps in learning and to prompt support and intervention where necessary. Respondents to consultation supported the idea of a single, coherent system of assessment to include record-keeping. This would be likely to include a single, running record starting in pre-school or at entry to school, with background information and contributions from teachers, parents and other agencies. Personal Learning Plans are being piloted in New Community Schools and the Scottish Executive is committed to Personal Learning Plans for all by 2003. As schools move increasingly to electronic record-keeping, the exchange of data with education authorities and the Scottish Executive through the National Management Information System should become routine. This data is held at pupil level and as well as covering educational details such as attendance and attainment, it also includes items about the pupils' background - for example gender, address, ethnic background and religion. It should then be possible to analyse attainment data and compare the performance of particular groups, however they are defined. The Minister is due to make an announcement on Assessment 3-14 in the early autumn. RECOMMENDATION 24 Consideration should be given by local authorities to ring-fencing or top-slicing resources for specific initiatives and interventions for education provision for Gypsy Travellers, for alternatives to school education and to encourage and support school attendance. The comments on funding included at recommendation 15 apply equally to this question. RECOMMENDATION 25 Gypsy Travellers should be included in the strategic planning of education services and the impact of their participation monitored to ensure that their views are considered and listened to. All parents are encouraged to become involved with strategic planning, mainly through parent and teacher associations and school boards. However, the Scottish Executive is currently funding the preparation of guidance by the Scottish Executive Traveller Education Programme for education authorities and schools on promoting education for Travellers in Scotland. It is anticipated that this will include guidance on including Travellers views in strategic planning of education services. Scottish Executive Health Department responses for Recommendations -26 to 31 The Scottish Executive Health Department welcomes and accepts the recommendations contained in the Committee’s report As part of the Department’s wider work on minority ethnic health, NHSScotland recognises Travellers as a distinct ethnic group. In 1998 the, then, Minister for Health challenged the NHS to live by the spirit and not just the letter of existing legislation. This challenge was reinforced in the Scottish Health Plan, Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change, which commits "NHS Boards to ensuring that NHS staff are professionally and culturally equipped to meet the distinctive needs of people and families from ethnic minority communities". Travellers are covered by this commitment and work is underway to equip the NHS and local staff to deliver it. As a first stage, a systematic stocktake of every Board and Trust has been carried out to identify progress in delivering services which are clinically and culturally appropriate. This also sought to identify the type of central support needed by NHS agencies to meet the Health Plan’s challenge. The report will be published in the autumn, along with proposals to address the specific health needs of Scotland’s minority ethnic communities, including Travellers. Specific responses to Recommendations 26 - 31 RECOMMENDATION 26 Research should be commissioned by the Scottish Executive to establish the health and health needs of Gypsy Travellers in Scotland, including specific research on health issues arising from environmental factors relating to accommodation. This will be part of the meeting the Scottish Health Plan commitment. RECOMMENDATION 27 Guidelines on initial training and Continuing Professional Development of NHS staff, including GPs and hospital doctors, should clearly identify Gypsy Travellers as an ethnic group in relation to training on equality, social justice and anti-discriminatory practice and promote awareness of the sensitivity to the needs of Gypsy Travellers in relation to health care. This will be part of meeting the Scottish Health Plan commitment that all NHS Boards ensure that their staff are professionally and culturally equipped to meet distinctive needs of people and family groups from ethnic minority communities. RECOMMENDATION 28 New services and improvements to existing services should be developed in consultation and monitored, to establish whether targets are being met and that the services of Gypsy Travellers’ needs. This will be part of the meeting the Scottish Health Plan commitment. RECOMMENDATION 29 Funding systems should be reviewed, clearly explained and transparent, to ensure that there are no disincentives for GP practices in registering Gypsy Travellers. Resources for the maintenance or mainstreaming of pilot projects that develop good practice in the provision of health care for Gypsy Travellers should be made available to Health Boards Travellers are entitled to the same range of secondary and primary care services as any other patient - including health advice, consultations, examinations and immunisations against a range of diseases. Everyone has the right to be registered with a GP either as a listed patient or a temporary resident. The GP is obliged to offer both types of patient the same services. Travellers are entitled to be registered with a GP as a temporary resident where they expect to be resident in an area for less than 3 months. The treatment of temporary residents attracts payment under the arrangements for GP remuneration. Temporary residents are not included in the calculations for target payments for immunisations and certain other services. This means that there is no financial disincentive for GPs to take on Travellers as temporary residents. Equally, however, there is no significant financial incentive for GPs to be proactive in promoting such services. The availability of medical services for Travellers has been considered as part of a research project into access to primary care services for the Scottish Executive Health Department carried out by the Scottish Consumer Council. The report has been received and has been referred to the Primary Care Modernisation Group for consideration. The report will also be published shortly. Current arrangements allow for Travellers to register with a GP and to receive all general medical services. RECOMMENDATION 30 Resources for the maintenance or mainstreaming of pilot projects that develop good practice in the provision of health care for Gypsy Travellers should be made available to Health Boards, with particular reference to the use of patient hand-held records. This will be considered as part of the planning necessary to meet the Scottish Health Plan commitment. RECOMMENDATION 31 Gypsy Travellers should be targeted for specific health promotion campaigns, such as immunisation, accident prevention, child development, and women’s health issues, including screening. As temporary residents, Travellers are entitled to receive all medical services such as immunisations, accident prevention, child development, and women’s health issues, including screening. Examples of work currently underway include: Dumfries and Galloway: There are two designated sites for Travellers. A community nurse and a community paediatrician visit on a regular basis. There is also a weekly mother and baby clinic. The Dumfries & Upper Nithsdale LHCC has instigated projects working with Travellers to improve health. Highland Health Board: Has a Health Facilitator to Travellers The Innovation Fund for Children’s Services has also awarded £123,500 to Highland Health Board to look at ways of improving child and family health amongst Travellers in Highland by developing a co-ordinated cross agency approach involving health, housing, education and social work. Other initiatives that will have a direct impact on Travellers include: The statement in the Child Health Support Group Template that NHS Boards should ensure that child health services identify and target support to the most vulnerable families in their communities. Our National Health tasking the NHS with tackling health inequalities, and requiring each NHS board to identify the action it is taking to tackle homelessness and reduce inequalities. Local Health Care Co-operative’s have a key role to play in delivering this agenda. RECOMMENDATION 32 Where a Gypsy Traveller Liaison Officer is appointed their specific responsibilities should include consultation with Gypsy Travellers, promoting appropriate service provision, providing information and support to Gypsy Travellers in assessing public service provision, providing information and support to Gypsy Travellers in accessing public services. Local authorities already have a statutory obligation to promote social welfare by making available advice, guidance and assistance on such a scale as may be appropriate for their area and to provide or arrange services in line with local need. It would therefore be a matter for the individual local authority to determine how best to make available advice, guidance and assistance to the Traveller population in its area. However, where a local authority decides to appoint a Traveller Liaison Officer to help achieve this, the Executive fully agrees that the matters set out in the Committee's recommendation above should form part of the Liason Officer's responsibilities. RECOMMENDATION 33 Gypsy Travellers should be included in the strategic planning of personal social services, including community care, and the impact of their participation monitored to ensure that their views are considered and listened to:
Local authorities are expected to consult widely and inclusively when preparing community plans, and community care plans, for their areas. The Executive will ensure that future guidance to local authorities on strategic planning, reminds authorities of the need to take account of the specific needs of Travellers. Community Planning, although still being developed, has the potential for making a significant contribution to the mainstreaming of equality in service design and delivery. Legislation is being developed to give Community planning a statutory underpinning - due to be introduced to Parliament in February 2002. RECOMMENDATION 34 Racial diversity strategies and training materials for the police and other relevant bodies in the criminal justice system should include reference to Gypsy Travellers as a separate ethnic group. The Scottish Executive believes that a co-ordinated approach to training based upon recognised standards, definitions and with the involvement of agencies concerned with Travellers in both the development and the delivery of training is the way forward. However, responsibility for developing any training strategy for the police rests with the Scottish Police Service and Scottish Police College. RECOMMENDATION 35 Schemes should be developed to promote the confidence of Gypsy Travellers in the police, whether contact related to experiences as victims of crime, racial harassment or as suspected offenders:
The Deputy First Minister, Jim Wallace, announced on 10 October 2000 that a working group was to be set up to consider how a Community Legal Service might be developed for Scotland and to make recommendations to him in October 2001. When announcing the establishment of the group, the Deputy First Minister said that advice, legal information and representation should be available to a uniform standard, although not necessarily provided in a uniform way across Scotland. The group which meets under the title the Review of Legal Information and Advice Provision in Scotland, is drawn from a wide range of interested organisations including the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB), Citizens Advice Scotland, the Equal Opportunities Commission, other independent advice based organisations and the Law Society. The working group's published objective is to improve access to civil justice for all so that people have access to the information and help they need to make informed choices about how best to resolve problems their legal problems. The group is on course to present a report to Scottish Ministers in October. Ministers will then have to decide how the development of this service can best be taken forward. However, it is likely that some local needs assessment, in terms of identifying gaps in the provision of services, will be part of this. RECOMMENDATION 36 Policing practices and arrangements should continue to be reviewed and specific monitoring of relations between police and Gypsy Travellers established. Guidance should be provided for use by the police in working with Gypsy Travellers, as:
The police approach is based on 3 key principles:
It is for individual police forces to determine what their priorities and obligations are for the communities, but each of Scotland's 8 Police Forces is committed to fair and equitable policing. There is also awareness that Traveller initiatives should form an integral part of any "partnership approach" to crime prevention and community safety issues. Accordingly every police force in Scotland will make local arrangements for the practical care of individuals coming to its attention. This will include agreed courses of action or protocols with, social services, and possibly other agencies, which police officers should be aware of. RECOMMENDATION 37 To support the recognition of Gypsy Travellers as a distinct ethnic group and commitment by public services to develop policy and service provision based on such an approach:
The Scottish Executive intends to publish detailed legislative proposals on best value in local government in the autumn. These proposals are likely to introduce a duty of best value on local government that will include an obligation to have regard to equal opportunities.
Current materials are intended to be appropriate for use throughout the school education system, regardless of ethnic group, therefore there is no differentiation in current arrangements.
The Advertising Agency contracted for the Scottish Executive’s anti-racist campaign has been made aware of the requirement to include Travellers in their consultation process. SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE |
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