Dale Farm battle highlights funding black hole for new Traveller sites

Thu Sep 29 12:02:32 BST 2011

Brilliant report by Paul Mason from social 
breakdown in Greece, about new social movements, 
and the breakdown of law & order...
and a battle royal between Peter Oborne and, as 
Jeremy Paxman called him 'Mr Idiot' EU spokesman on the future of the Euro.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b015f44x

see also
Dale Farm travellers evicted from Wokingham
http://www.getwokingham.co.uk/news/s/2100564_dale_farm_travellers_evicted_from_wokingham

Dale Farm battle highlights funding black hole for new Traveller sites
Equality and Human Rights Commission says because 
Gypsy sites grant is not ring-fenced, money has been channelled away
Alexandra Topping and Hugh Muir - guardian.co.uk, 
Wednesday 28 September 2011 19.10 BST
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/sep/28/dale-farm-funding-traveller-sites?newsfeed=true
The Dale Farm attempted eviction has drawn 
attention to millions of pounds being channelled 
away from future site funding. Photograph: Andrew Winning/REUTERS
Millions of pounds intended for new Gypsy and 
Traveller sites have been diverted to other 
projects, a move described as shocking by the 
Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The Gypsy and Traveller Sites Grant, launched in 
2008, had £97m available to "reduce the number of 
unauthorised sites" and "reduce the need for 
costly enforcement action". But only £16.9m has 
been spent. A lack of ring-fencing has meant 
millions being channelled into affordable homes not intended for Gypsies.
The diversion of the public money emerged as an 
eviction at the Dale Farm Travellers' site in 
Essex, estimated to cost Basildon council up to 
£18m, became stuck in a legal quagmire with a 
further high-court hearing on its fate due on Thursday.
"Given that the lack of Traveller sites is 
central to the Dale Farm problem, it is shocking 
that millions have been taken away that should 
have been used for site provision and other 
projects," said Simon Woolley, a commissioner 
with responsibility for Travellers, at the 
Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The Homes and Communities Agency told the 
Guardian that £15m from the grant was allotted to 
"unfunded commitments in other programmes" within 
the National Affordable Homes Programme.
Lord Eric Avebury, chair of the all-party 
parliamentary group for Gypsy, Roma and 
Travellers, said the effect of grandiose promises 
made to Travellers had been "pretty measly". He 
added: "The government's policy on Gypsies and 
Travellers is a shambles  if you are going to 
put a four-year programme in place then local 
authorities have to be aware of it and ready to 
use it. It is indicative of the total lack of 
willingness of successive governments to address 
the needs of Gypsies and Travellers."
The grant programme, which had a stated aim of 
creating new, permanent, sites, to "tackle the 
inequalities experienced by Travellers 
 one of 
the most disadvantaged [groups] in the country" 
has led to building of just four new sites, with 
a total of 37 pitches; 62 new pitches were 
created on existing sites and 178 pitches were refurbished.
A lack of political will is responsible for the 
failure to provide the required 3,000 sites, 
according to the government's annual caravan 
count, said the MP Andrew Slaughter, a member of 
the Gypsy, Roma and Travellers parliamentary group.
Slaughter said: "Local authorities are unwilling 
to take the grant often because of pressure from 
electors who say they do not want a site near 
them even it will solve local problems and cost nothing."
The situation will be worsened by the localism 
bill, which scraps the requirement for local 
authorities to use a common method for assessing 
the needs of Gypsies and Travellers, and removes 
councils' obligation to allocate sites, he added.
The coalition scrapped the Gypsy and Traveller 
sites grant in 2010-11, but reinstated a sum of 
£60m for 2011-15. That amount is about half of 
the yearly total previously available.
The Department for Communities and Local 
Government said the cut was made as part of its 
"contribution to reducing the national deficit", 
and that targets had been abolished because "they 
did not work, alienated communities and did not 
always accurately reflect the need on the ground".
Councils were being given more powers to address 
local housing and planning issues with 
"incentives" to provide appropriate sites, 
including a "duty to cooperate", ensuring local 
authorities worked together. There was also the 
new homes bonus, whereby the government matches 
additional council tax raised by new homes.
But that bonus was rated by Slaughter as "a 
perverse incentive" since councils would draw 
significantly more council tax from luxury developments than Traveller sites.
The situation was likely to create more Dale 
Farms, the MP said: "The government has given in 
to pressure from backbenchers to give local 
authorities a device to veto construction of new 
sites. That will mean few if any new sites built 
even if money's available, more expensive 
evictions, more conflict and the continuation of 
appalling life-indicators for Gypsies and Travellers."
Candy Sheridan, who is a member of the Gypsy 
Council and a campaigner at Dale Farm, told the 
Guardian's Focus podcast that the Gypsy community 
was being let down and ignored. "It's appalling. 
We have not been catered for and we continue to 
be vilified," she said. "There are councils 
everywhere who don't want to deliver for us  
they say we have enough Gypsy sites. Where do we fit in?"
Additional reporting by Peter Sale

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