Support for Gypsies and Travellers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Support for Gypsies and Travellers - Essay ExampleAccording to Gypsies and Travellers (2006) unauthorized sites could be classified into two categories. One such type is the unauthorized encampments wherein the gypsies or travelers are parked illegally on land not belonging to them. The some other type is called unauthorized developments which are described as sites where they own the land but without the required planning permission (Fraser 2007). Other groups, who are financially adequate opt to move into permanent housing but are hitherto socially branded as gypsies (Keltcher 2004). There are no official figures regarding the radical number of British gypsies and travelers. However, in Keltcher (2004) estimates the size of these groups put together living in caravans to be between 90,000 to 12,000 excluding the 200,000 residing in settled houses. The July 2004 statistics (in Keltcher 2004) reported that a organic of 847 caravans of which 562 were in authorized sites, 76 on au thorized private sites and 209 on unauthorized encampments. Thomas (2006) cited that the poor accommodation and the paucity of sites to stay is one of the biggest problems approach by the travelers. This is the continuous sickness that the government spends time to search for remedy.There were no polices against the gypsies in terms of their economic engagements during the 19th century. (Acton 1997) However in the twentieth century, because of the economic changes, their trades became obsolete and they were forced to move out of their encampment sites. Acton (1997) explained that poorer gypsies resort to caravan while the wealthier ones began to buy land. However this was cut off by the 1960 railroad train Sites (Control of Development) Act (Onions 1995). Such events led to the formation of the Gypsy Council on December 1966 (Thomas 2006). They demanded camping sites to open in every country, equal rights to education and equal rest through respect between themselves and the alr eady settled neighbors (Onion 1995). The government then enacted the Caravan Sites Act in 1968 (Acton 1997). Section 6 of this Act gave the Local authorities a mandatory duty to provide adequate accommodations for the gypsies living or staying in their area (Onion 1995). In return of such move, the Local Government keister apply to the Secretary of State to become a designated area (Thomas 2006) Section 10 also gave designated Authorities additional powers to remove Gypsies from unauthorized land inwardly their governed areas (Onion 1995). These powers were greatly resented because they were granted even before all the Gypsies in an area had a place to stay (Acton 1997). The glorious solution lasted for a short time. In 1977, Sir John Cripps reviewed the implementation and reported that this Act was not properly implemented. Many of the gypsies still had no legal right of abode and societal pressures are still evident. Sir Cripps recommended that the central Government must provi de funding. (Regional Spatial Strategy Draft 2000) This was also not the remedy because many Local Authorities still analyze to comply with their statutory duty (Onions 1995). The Councils ignored the new planning circular that called them to assist Travellers to identify land they could buy themselves and be developed as sites. This resorted to the shortage of sites thus forcing the gypsies to live on unauthorized encampments (Thomas 2006). The gypsies or travelers moved to unauthorized