Assessing local authorities’ progress in meeting the accommodation needs of Gypsy and Traveller communities in Scotland: Final Report

In its 2006 report Common Ground, the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) concluded that Gypsies and Irish Travellers are the most excluded groups in Britain today. Advances in social mobility and access to power made by other disadvantaged groups in Britain, such as other ethnic minority groups, have not been matched by Gypsies and Travellers. The research reported here builds on the earlier work done by the CRE.

The aim of this study is to provide data about the extent to which local authorities in Scotland are meeting the accommodation needs of Scottish Gypsy Travellers. There are two main objectives:

• To ascertain the quantity of current Gypsy Traveller site provision, including any recent changes in provision and any imminent plans to develop sites in the future.
• To investigate the timescales of delivery to meet any accommodation shortfalls.

The research is designed to explore the perspective of local authorities and, to a lesser extent, police forces in Scotland and their understanding of the accommodation needs of Scottish Gypsy Travellers. As a result there has been no direct involvement of Scottish Gypsy Traveller communities and it can therefore, of course, give one side of the picture only.