Guide to Law
Gypsies and other traditional Travellers have been the object of prejudice and discrimination for hundreds of years, but the influx of new Travellers onto the road, particularly from the mid 80’s onwards, provoked the Government into passing the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. Part five of the Act greatly increased the powers of police and local authorities to evict Travellers camping illegally and removed the duty on local authorities, under the 1968 Caravan Sites Act, to provide sites for Gypsies. See below for more details of this Act.
The Government’s response to critics of the Act was that Gypsies and Travellers should buy their own land and set up sites. However, the reality is that the current planning system makes this virtually impossible. For more information on Gypsies and Travellers and the planning system, please use the link at the bottom of the page.
Although nomadism and unauthorised camping are not, in themselves, illegal, the effect of the legislation has been to criminalise a way of life. In addition to this, the systematic closure of traditional stopping places through ditching, gating and boulders has resulted in the Traveller community having nowhere legal to stop. This has devastating consequences, especially for families with young children. In 1995, FFT, working with the Public Law Project, secured an important judgment which has meant that local authorities have to take account of Traveler’s circumstances before evicting. This judgment came about as a result of R-v-Wealden Dist. Council ex parte Wales, in which Justice Sedley stated these were "considerations of common humanity, none of which can properly be ignored when dealing with one of the most fundamental human needs, the need for shelter with at least a modicum of security."
As a result of repeated legal challenges brought by the Traveller community, the Department of the Environment, Transport & the Regions launched a "Good Practice Guide on Managing Unauthorised Camping" in September 1998 for local authorities and the police. Although there has been no change to legislation, the guide is a recognition by the authorities that a different approach to Travellers is necessary and holds considerable weight in legal challenges.
In 2004 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (DCLG) and the Home Office jointly launched the "Guidance on Managing Unauthorised Encampments". It provides guidance to local authorities, the police and others on managing unauthorised encampments.
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