Definition of Gypsy and Traveller communities

There is no statutory definition of 'travellers' or 'gypsies' in Scotland. Between 1982 and 1996, the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 contained such a definition in relation to local authority travellers' sites. [1] It allowed local authorities to provide sites for 'persons of nomadic habit of life, whatever their race or origin', excluding 'members of an organised group of travelling showmen' and 'persons engaged in a travelling circus'. This legislation has been repealed.

The Commission for Racial Equality (now the Equality and Human Rights Commission) has recognised traditional Gypsy and Traveller communities as a distinct ethnic group. In England, Romanies and Irish Travellers have also been recognised by the courts as being an ethnic group protected under the Race Relations Act 1976, since they have a long shared history and a cultural tradition of their own. [2] In 2008, an employment tribunal case also recognised Scottish Gypsy and Traveller communities as a distinct ethnic group, protected by the Race Relations Act. [3] The Race Relations Act 1976 was repealed by the Equality Act 2010 on 1 October 2010, however, the same definition of 'ethnic group' was incorporated into the 2010 Act and, consequently, any case law that refers to the 1976 Act definition of 'ethnic group' is equally applicable to the 2010 Act.

Advisers should be guided by an individual's definition of their own ethnic background.

Under international law, Gypsies have been categorised as a national minority by the United Nations and the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe has called for their protection. The Council of Ministers of the European Union has opposed discrimination against people with a nomadic lifestyle, not just Gypsies. [4] This international law, however, has no status in Scottish courts.

In Scotland, the Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland (ACPOS) have agreed that all public service providers should treat Scottish Gypsies and Travellers as a distinct group. [5]

See the section Definition of a caravan/mobile home.