Overview of the situation for Gypsy and Traveller communities in Scotland

The precise population of Gypsy and Traveller communities in Scotland is not known. A Scottish Government count of members of Gypsy and Traveller communities living on official council sites, private caravan sites and unauthorised encampments set the figure at 2,120, [1] however the Scottish Traveller Education Programme estimates that there are around 15,000 members of Gypsy and Traveller communities in Scotland.

In this section, the term Gypsy and Traveller communities is used to encompass several different groups:

• Scottish Gypsies and Travellers

• Gypsies, or Romanies

• Irish Travellers

• European Roma

• Occupational Travellers, such as fairground and circus people, and bargees

• New Age or New Travellers

Members of Gypsy and Traveller communities live on local authority travellers' sites, on private sites, in unauthorised roadside camps, and in any other type of accommodation. Many members move between different sites, roadside camps and permanent housing.

Scottish local authorities have never been under a duty to provide sites for travellers to park their caravans. Prior to 1998, however, the Scottish Office/Executive paid 100 per cent capital cost grants for local authorities to set up such sites. The Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Travelling People was set up in 1971. It issued its final report in 1999. It previously recommended the number of pitches on official travellers' sites that each local authority should ensure existed in its area. Pitch targets could be met, in part or in full, by private sites, even though the availability of those sites for travellers was not monitored. Pitch targets have now been abandoned.

Under guidelines produced by the Scottish Government [2] and the Association of Chief Police Officers, [3] procurators fiscal, local authorities and the police are advised not to evict or prosecute travellers unless they believe it is in the public interest to do so.

At present, there is no specific piece of legislation in Scotland that protects the rights of people to pursue a travelling lifestyle. There are various statutes and common law provisions under which travellers can face criminal prosecution and eviction if they park their caravans on land without authorisation.