All policy submissions posted here are in PDF format. Any problems downloading these documents, please contact the ITM offices.

-  More Sites for the East of England

The East of England Regional Assembly has agreed to proposals for 1187 pitches for the East of England, during the debate on the proposals on the 25/1/2008 there was some opposition but the proposal was eventually backed by a majority. The Cambridge Evening News quoted an Irish Traveller Movement (ITMB) spokesperson as saying prior to the debate:

"If there is a fair and balanced discussion at the East of England Regional Assembly then hopefully a fair decision will be reached which will set a course for the Traveller sites that are needed. Gypsy and Traveller children also have difficulty accessing education opportunities and other services because of a lack of sites. For the wider community more sites mean they can be saved the cost and inconvenience of unauthorised encampments and developments”.

There have been warnings though from some councils that they will launch legal challenges to their pitch allocations.

The proposals are now open to public consultation. It is feared that many people from the settled community will demonstrate their opposition. The ITMB urges Travellers and their friends and support groups to input into this consultation and support the need for more sites – use the ITMB draft submission for the East of England consultation to help make your views known.

- Education - New Opportunities and Challenges

The Education and Skills Bill is passing through parliament The Bill introduces a requirement for young people to remain in education or training until they are 18 beyond the current leaving age of 16 and creates a duty on young people to participate and on parents to assist their children to participate.

This new law was discussed by the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain advisory committee, it was felt that it could create some difficulties for Travellers who may prefer to work and learn within their own families or for those Travellers who had dropped out of school at an early age and who might find it hard to return to formal education. However, it was also argued that there could be some positive opportunities that could help young Travellers find work and develop new skills.

Find out More - The Irish Traveller Movement in Britain (ITMB) has produced a policy paper based on discussions with the ITMB Advisory Group, officials in the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and other experts.

The paper provides:

• A statement of principles on education around which the ITMB can campaign.
• A set of policy proposals which the ITMB believe are important to raising the educational inclusion of Travellers.

- CLG Site design and management

The draft guidance on the management and design of Traveller sites contains a great deal of useful advice which if implemented could improve the quality of life for Travellers living on sites. In the following response the ITM sets out proposals for how the guidance can be improved and developed.

 - Traveller Economic Inclusion

The following paper raises some of the key issues and seeks to give a brief summary of various projects that are assisting in raising the economic inclusion of Gypsies and Travellers in:

• Education
• Training and Employment
• Business Development
• Social Services
• Policy Formulation