Addressing Roma, Gypsy and Traveller exclusion
Submitting Institution
University of SalfordUnit of Assessment
Architecture, Built Environment and PlanningSummary Impact Type
SocietalResearch Subject Area(s)
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Sociology
Summary of the impact
Addressing Roma, Gypsy and Traveller exclusion is focused on
working in partnership with
local authorities and Gypsy and Traveller communities to support
improvements in the
development of infrastructure to enhance wellbeing and quality of life for
migrant and mobile
groups, demonstrating the following impact:
- Supporting Roma, Gypsy and Traveller communities in enhancing their
agency in respect
of their accommodation and related needs;
- Engaging stakeholders and communities to co-develop mutual
understanding;
- Developing the collaborative capacity of researchers to work with
Roma, Gypsy and
Traveller communities;
- Supporting public sector, private sector and third sector to address
Roma, Gypsy and
Traveller exclusion;
- Reducing exclusion, improving community cohesion and improving life
chances.
Underpinning research
The key researchers and positions they held at the institution at the
time of the
research are as follows: Dr Philip Brown, (from 2006) Director of
the Salford Housing &
Urban Studies Unit, Dr Lisa Scullion (from 2008), School
of Environment & Life Sciences,
(submitting to UoA22). Salford Housing & Urban Studies Unit (SHUSU) is
a leading multi-
disciplinary applied social science research and consultancy unit in the
fields of diversity and
inclusion, sustainable consumption and fuel poverty, and community
resources. The unit
focuses on research which:
- Shines a light on the lives of those most vulnerable in our society;
- Helps to understand and navigate through complex social issues within
the built and
human environment; and
- Informs evidence-based policy making.
The impact of this case study is underpinned by the following research:
-
Context: The legislative and policy shift relating to
Gypsy-Traveller accommodation in
England from 2004-2007 emerged from an acknowledgement that
Gypsy-Travellers were
often excluded from `mainstream' Housing Needs Assessments, conferring a
duty on
English local authorities to carry out specific Gypsy and Traveller
Accommodation
Assessments (GTAAs). Brown et al (2009) explored how evidence
was created, made
sense of, integrated and validated in order to achieve evidence-based
planning policy. [1]
-
2010: The communities which live under the generic terms of
Gypsies, Travellers or
Roma, remain some of the most excluded in the world. Increased research
with Gypsy-
Travellers in England has highlighted crucial issues to consider when
researching groups
which are often suspicious of the purpose of research. Based on a
reflective process,
Brown et al elucidate the complexities involved in working with
Gypsy-Traveller
communities in the research process, the conclusions of which include:
- Researchers need to consider how broader disempowerment impacts upon
the
research process and how the research process can serve as an agent of
community
development and social justice.
- `Doing research' with Gypsy-Traveller communities must be a
responsible and
adapted process in order for the experience and resulting findings to be
meaningful
for Gypsy-Traveller communities.
- Methodological approaches need careful consideration in order to
facilitate the most
meaningful and ethical contact as possible. [2]
-
2011: The linear technical-rational model in
evidence-based decision making has been
heavily criticised as theoretically, politically and practically
inadequate. Brown et al
concluded, however, in The evidence base for Gypsy and Traveller
site planning: a story
of complexity and tension, that by drawing upon:
- An analysis of all available Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs;
- Assessments and other documents indicating the number of pitches
required for local
authorities;
- An analysis of the 2006-08 Caravan Count data;
- A detailed questionnaire sent to all 354 local authorities in England,
resulting in 185
responses:
A technical-rational approach offers value in this field in coping with
the many competing
pressures involved complexity and tension. [5]
-
2010-2013: The Roma SOURCE project involved 8 organisations
from 6 European
Member States. Migration Yorkshire (Leeds City Council) was lead
partner. The
partnership was made up of regional and local governments, Roma-led NGOs
(non-
governmental organisations), the University of Salford and a private
sector training
provider. Brown et al carried out research to consider:
- Roma experiences of social inclusion/exclusion;
- The extent to which Roma and majority communities lead integrated
lives.
- Fieldwork was conducted in six European Member States with Roma and
non-Roma
populations. The research offers important and unique insights into the
experiences and
expectations of both Roma and non-Roma people in respect of social
exclusion,
community relations, work and welfare. [10]
-
2012: Historically, Travelling Showpeople have sought to
distance themselves from the
wider Gypsy and Traveller population, on the basis of their unique
occupation and
travelling patterns, but also based on a discourse around
self-sufficiency. Brown et al
explore how this distinction has been influenced by, and has influenced,
policy
developments relating to accommodation. It focuses on how this
distinction has created a
degree of exclusion in terms of accommodation needs, and the impact on
the position of
contemporary Travelling Showpeople. [6]
References to the research
Key outputs
1. Niner, P & Brown, P (2009), 'First steps towards regional planning
for Gypsy and
Traveller sites in England: Evidence based planning in practice', Town
Planning Review,
80(6), pp.627-646. (DOI)
(REF2)
2. Brown, P & Scullion, L (2010), `Doing research with Gypsy
Travellers in England:
reflections on experience and practice', Community Development Journal
and Oxford
University Press. (DOI)
(REF2)
3. Brown, P., Niner, P. and Lomax, D. (2010) Assessing local authorities'
progress in
meeting the accommodation needs of Gypsy and Traveller communities in
Scotland,
Equality and Human Rights Commission.
4. Brown, P., Henning, S. and Niner, P (2010) Assessing local housing
authorities' progress
in meeting the accommodation needs of Gypsy and Traveller communities in
England
and Wales, Equality and Human Rights Commission. ISBN 978 1 84206 332 3
5. Niner, P & Brown, P (2011), 'The evidence base for Gypsy and
Traveller site planning: a
story of complexity and tension', Evidence & Policy, 7(3),
pp.359-377. (DOI)
(REF2)
6. Scullion, L & Brown, P & Niner, P 2012, 'Accommodating
Travelling Showpeople in
England', Social Policy & Society, 11(2), pp.197-210. (DOI)
Key grants
7. 2013: Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme - Roma
MATRIX EC (Non-
Framework), £154.850 Principal Investigator: P
Brown (75%). Co-Investigators: L
Scullion
(25%).
8. 2013: Health
status of the Roma population in the EU and the monitoring of the data
collection
in the area of Roma health in Member States. EC (Non-Framework),
£1,687.00.
Principal Investigator: P
Brown (100%).
9. 2012:
JRCT National Roma research and network Joseph Rowntree Foundation,
£23,023.00. Principal Investigator: P
Brown (50%). Co-Investigator: L
Scullion (50%).
10. 2010:
Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme - Roma Source EC (Non-
Framework), £74,719.00. Principal Investigator: P
Dwyer (34%). Co-Investigators: P
Brown (33%),
L Scullion (33%).
Details of the impact
'We are one community - the Travellers and our settled neighbours.
We've all got something
in common: we want our children to be healthy and educated." Gloria
Buckley MBE, Romany
Gypsy and manager of three authorised sites. EHRC
Report
- Brown et al have been commissioned by local authorities to produce
circa one third of all
Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessments (GTAAs) across
England from
2006-2009 and GTAAs for around 20 local authorities from 2012-present.
These studies
offer estimations of the shortfall in culturally appropriate
accommodation units for Gypsies
and Travellers in particular localities. Following GTAAs, many local
authorities have
developed specific targets, embedded with local planning strategies
(Local Plans), for the
provision of accommodation for members of these communities.
- As a result of this profile and expertise Brown was commissioned by
the Equality and
Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to assess
the progress local authorities had made in
meeting these identified needs. The findings were used to inform the
report on progress
on Gypsy and Traveller accommodation provision produced by central
government.
Following on from this particular study Brown was commissioned by the
EHRC to produce
a similar study in Scotland and an annual
update study covering both England and Wales.
- In 2006 Brown had been part of a team (with the Universities of
Birmingham and Sheffield
Hallam) commissioned by CLG to provide research input into developing
good practice
guidance for regional planning bodies (RPBs) when preparing reviews of
Regional Spatial
Strategies (RSSs) in respect of Gypsy and Traveller accommodation needs.
Since 2008
the guide had influenced local authority policies providing the
framework for Gypsy and
Traveller provision. In response, however, to the localism and
decentralisation agenda,
which moved away from regional spatial strategies, and calling on Brown
et al's update to
the EHRC on local authority progress, the Commons Select Committee - the
Communities and Local Government Committee recommended a simplified
and
centralised national approach to the provision of Gypsy and Traveller
accommodation:
"There is strong evidence that a localism and decentralisation agenda
is limited in its
capacity to identify and provide accommodation for the Gypsy and
Traveller communities.
A simplified and centralised national approach to the provision of Gypsy
and Traveller
accommodation is essential to overcoming the discrimination Gypsies and
Travellers
face. The pursuit of a decentralisation and localism agenda - in
relation to Gypsy and
Traveller accommodation provision - will more than likely lead to an
increase in local
authorities' expenditure on evictions of Gypsy and Traveller
communities. Strong
evidence from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and local
authorities
has shown that once proper Gypsy and Traveller sites are provided,
conflict and tension
between local settled communities and Gypsies and Travellers is
significantly reduced,
leading to greater community cohesion." Commons Select Committee
Localism -
Communities and Local Government Committee
June 2011
- The Homes and Communities Agency's central coordination of site
provision through the
delivery of the Gypsy and Traveller Sites Grant Programme has seen
£16.3m invested in
26 schemes across the country providing 88 new or additional pitches and
179 improved
pitches: "Authorised travellers' sites can provide the basis for
local authorities to tackle
the inequalities experienced by travellers. Increased authorised
provision will reduce the
number of unauthorised sites and the tensions they can create between
travellers and the
settled community and reduce the need for costly enforcement action."
HCA
website
- Building on their work with UK Gypsies and Travellers (who are seen as
`Roma' within a
definition from the Council of Europe) Brown et al were invited to be
partners on the
Roma SOURCE project, which ran between 2011 and 2013. Roma SOURCE
explored
the social exclusion and community relations of Roma and non Roma in six
EU Member
States. In partnership with a number of public sector partners Roma
SOURCE has
combatted discrimination and exclusion of Roma, and improved
understanding between
Roma and mainstream communities. Based on an evaluation of the Roma
SOURCE
project there is tangible progression in inclusion of Roma in a number
of local areas,
greater understanding and demonstrable policy change. The effects of the
project went
beyond the partner organisations, leaving a legacy of integration. Work
on Roma
inclusion will continue through Roma MATRIX (running from 2013-2015), a
new project
with 19 partners in 10 European Member States.
- Brown et al are also leading pioneering work funded by the Joseph
Rowntree Charitable
Trust which aims to enumerate the migrant Roma population in the UK.
This work has
been cited in policy documents from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(FCO) as
follows "UK efforts to combat the marginalisation of the Roma
communities have both a
domestic and an international dimension. We seek to share our
experience of integration
and at the same time to reduce the push factors that force communities
which are
discriminated against to come to the UK. The Department for
Communities and Local
Government, which is a member of the network, reports to the European
Commission on
its activities and on the situation of the Roma community in the UK
more widely. The
University of Salford is due to issue a report in 2013 which will
provide the most accurate
picture to date on the number and distribution of the Roma in the UK".
Sources to corroborate the impact
a) Equalities Office, Salford City Council (2011): We asked
SHUSU to undertake
engagement with three BME communities on a hitherto unprecedented
scale, and
investigate a wide range of complex subjects from housing to
employment. The
information that SHUSU collected has enabled us to establish a firm
baseline in a number
of key service areas, and will allow us to target our resources much
better in the future."
b) Planning Policy Manager, Sevenoaks District Council (2012): "The
willingness of the
team to engage with emerging Gypsy and Traveller policy issues and
carry out a robust
study that met the requirements of the brief was welcomed. The survey
work achieved
what we consider to be an excellent response rate. The involvement of
community
interviewers and the work and guidance of the SHUSU staff, are
considered to have been
significant reasons for this."
c) Findings from the external evaluation of the Roma SOURCE project
relating to the
University of Salford (Brown et al) team (2013): According to the
Valencia partner: "For
us the research has been really impressive. Having this level of
insight and analysis of the
situation is really useful, especially in this time of crisis when we
do not have the
resources for analytical actions. Now from the project we have a real
and very strong
analysis. We will disseminate this information to other branches of
the regional
administration and to the ministry".
d) From the evaluator's
report: "A highlight of the Project that had a very positive
local
impact was the visit of the Salford University team to the village to
carry out focus group
research. As one of the local team recalled, "In the life of a small
village this is a very big
thing - the people feel others are interested and that something is
really happening." The
Association will continue to use the research beyond the life of the
project."
e) e)
Assessing local housing authorities' progress in meeting the
accommodation needs of
Gypsy
and Traveller communities in England, Equality and Human Rights
Commission,
2009
f) f)
Assessing local authorities' progress in meeting the accommodation
needs of Gypsy and
Traveller
communities in England and Wales: 2010 update, Equality and Human
Rights
Commission, Research report 68
g) Commons
Select Committee Localism - Communities and Local Government Committee
June 2011
h) Human
Rights and Democracy, The 2012 Commonwealth Report, p.70
i) The
Limits of Inclusion? Exploring the Lives of Roma and Non Roma in six
European Union Member States,"
ROMA Source 2013