The findings of the CRE's inquiry into local authorities' race and community relations work around sites for Gypsies and Irish Travellers have been released today.

• Download the inquiry report and summary

Relations between Gypsies and Irish Travellers and other members of the public are a particular cause for concern, with people from these groups often leading separate, parallel lives.

Gypsies and Irish Travellers have the poorest life chances of any ethnic group in Britain today, with health and education outcomes well below the national average. It was this dual concern for poor race relations and inequality that led the CRE to launch this inquiry.

The inquiry found many local authorities are failing to promote equality and good race relations around Gypsy sites with consequences for the local community as a whole.

Gypsies and Irish Travellers live in, or pass through, 91% of local authority areas. In over two-thirds of these areas there are tensions linked to unauthorised encampments and developments, or general public hostility. Most local authorities said they had taken no steps to address these tensions in a long term way, despite their statutory duty to promote good race relations.

CRE Chair Trevor Phillips said:

The only sustainable solution, with benefits for everyone in the community is sufficient, suitable legal sites - just 500 acres would be enough to meet all site needs. We found a consensus on this across government, with the Local Government Association and the Association of Chief Police Officers, so it's ludicrous that the cycle of unauthorised sites, eviction and hostility can't be broken. We have the answer: sites need to be well-managed and properly resourced, on a par with other forms of housing.

The findings are from extensive research including survey responses from 236 local authorities across England and Wales, nine case study authorities and more than 400 responses to a public call for evidence.

It provides the first authoritative evidence of how far local authorities are meeting their statutory duty to promote race equality and good race relations in their work on Gypsy sites. It also explores the role of the police in relation to the policing of authorised and unauthorised sites.

Recent changes to planning and housing legislation give local authorities a clear responsibility to identify and provide sites in the same way as housing, reducing the need for unauthorised encampments and the community tensions they cause. But the inquiry found that many local authorities face significant challenges in taking work forward around site provision.

Sarah Spencer, CRE Commissioner leading the inquiry, said:

Councillors find themselves in a catch-22 situation when identifying land and providing sites for Gypsies and Irish Travellers. Public hostility about unauthorised encampments and developments presents a political barrier to dealing with the primary cause of the problem, which is the shortage of sites.

Also the irresponsible behaviour of a small minority of Gypsies and Irish Travellers entrenches public hostility towards these groups as a whole, and causes further resistance

We found evidence of good practice, which shows that it is possible for local authorities to overcome the challenges they face. But many local authorities are perpetuating this problem. Rather than taking a long term view, they have an ad hoc, reactive approach, dealing with problems as they arise without looking at sustainable solutions that would benefit everyone. Many are failing to engage with the public, including Gypsies and Irish Travellers, about sites, and are doing nothing to build better community relations.

Enforcement action can no longer be an end in itself. Barricading land so there is nowhere to stop, or targeting all resources towards enforcement is costly - amounting to an estimated 18 million a year - and fails to tackle the long term issues.

The CRE report makes recommendations to help local authorities, with support from regional bodies, government and others, to overcome barriers at the local level, breaking out of the vicious circle of public hostility and unmet need which impacts negatively on everyone

Key recommendations for local authorities from the inquiry

• Local authorities need to provide strong local leadership regarding Gypsy sites, and allocate responsibility at a senior officer level.
• They need to develop a strategic and long-term approach to site provision and enforcement as part of overall strategy on housing, linked to health, education and an overarching communications strategy.
• Proactive work should be carried out to promote good community relations and build integrated communities.
• Local authorities need to ensure the same standards of services for Gypsies and Irish Travellers as for the wider community - both in what they provide and what they expect from Gypsies and Irish Travellers.
• Other local, regional and national bodies need to provide encouragement and support to local authorities to take this work forward. Gypsies and Irish Travellers also have an important role to play.

The report of the CRE inquiry will be available to download from 15 May, and can be downlaoded form the link below. Hard copies are available from The Stationery Office (see link below).

An audio CD version of the report is also being produced and will be available to download from the CRE webiste, or in hard copy from Claire Thieulin at cthieulin@cre.gov.uk

• Gypsies and Irish Travellers inquiry: download the report or listen to the audio version
• Order the print edition of the report from The Stationery Office

Notes to editors

1. In April 2004 the CRE launched its strategy for working with Gypsies and Travellers. By 2007 the CRE hopes to achieve measurable improvements for these groups across all services including site provision, school attendance, educational attainment, employment and treatment by criminal justice agencies

2. The inquiry started in October 2004. The CRE sent a questionnaire to all local authorities in England and Wales, receiving 236 responses (58%), and conducted in depth research into nine authorities

3. The recommendations in the CRE Common Ground report are intended to help local authorities, working alongside other agencies, to overcome the barriers they currently face and provide a solution that will benefit everyone.

4. Many public bodies, including local authorities now have a legal duty to eliminate unlawful discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and good race relations - this applies to all racial groups. The Race Equality Duty and new planning legislation should help identify and counter inequality and poor race relations tackling underlying causes of both community tensions and inequality.

5. Gypsies and Irish Travellers have the poorest life chances of any ethnic group today, with health and education outcomes well below the national average.

6. Key facts about Gypsies and Irish Travellers:

• Gypsy and Irish Traveller pupils in England have been identified to be the group most at risk of failure in the education system.
• Life expectancy is 10 year less for Traveller men and 12 years less for Traveller women than for other racial groups.
• High numbers of Gypsies and Travellers are homeless but 70% of councils with unauthorised encampments in their area mention Gypsies and Travellers in their statutory homelessness strategies.
• Gypsy and Irish Traveller mothers are 20 times more likely than mothers in the rest of the population to have experienced the death of a child.

The CRE in Scotland recently launched its Gypsy/Traveller strategy for 2006/07 which sets out the actions planned to counter discrimination and harassment experienced by Scottish Gypsies/Travellers. In particular the strategy identifies specific work relating to bringing about legislative change, clarifying the status of Scottish Gypsies/Travellers under the Race Relations Act, challenging racist reporting in the media and supporting community groups.

A copy of the strategy can be downloaded from our website:

• Gypsy/Travellers: a strategy for the CRE in Scotland

About the CRE

• The Race Relations Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against anyone on grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins. The Commission for Racial Equality was established under the Act to work for the elimination of discrimination, the promotion of equality of opportunity and good race relations generally.
• The CRE can advise or assist people with cases before courts and employment tribunals and can conduct its own investigations when it has grounds to believe discrimination may be taking place.
• Public bodies have a duty to eliminate discrimination in the way they work and to promote equality of opportunity and good race relations. The Commission is working to help them deliver this duty.

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