MP calls for ‘chronic under-supply' of Gypsy and Traveller sites to be addressed
A Labour MP has called on the Government to address the 'chronic under-supply' of Gypsy and Traveller sites across England.
Mary Kelly Foy said planning decisions on these sites 'have frequently been underpinned by prejudice', with just 30 created over the past 30 years.
The MP for City of Durham tabled an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill which proposes that Gypsy and Traveller sites are included in spatial development strategies.
Speaking in the Commons, she said: 'Today I rise to speak to amendment 134, in my name, that works towards addressing a long-standing and deeply entrenched failure in our planning system, the chronic under-supply of Gypsy and Traveller sites across England.
'And my amendment seeks to increase fairness into the system to enable, rather than hinder, the provision of adequate, culturally appropriate accommodation for Gypsy and Traveller communities.
'For too long, the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers have been overlooked by the planning system.'
She added: 'The Government has committed to delivering 1.5 million new homes by 2029, if that ambition is to be truly inclusive, it must include everyone, and that means by making space, literally and politically, for communities who have been moved on, fenced off and forgotten.'
Ms Foy said just 30 sites have been created over the past 30 years, adding: 'Decisions on Gypsy and Traveller sites have frequently been underpinned by prejudice, whether overt or institutional.
'Too often, proposed developments are blocked or delayed by local opposition that's not met with political will or leadership.
'Site delivery also suffers from a lack of inclusion at the strategic planning level, where Gypsy and Traveller site provision can be absent from local plans and excluded from land allocations. And this absence isn't an accident, it's a result of years of structural marginalisation that this Bill must now correct.'
Ms Foy said the UK is 'seeing a troubling trend' with the number of socially rented pitches declining.
She argued that leaving out Gypsy and Traveller sites from future strategies would be 'repeating mistakes of the past'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
7 minutes ago
- BBC News
First phase of £30m Plymouth's Armada Way revamp project to open
The first phase of a £30m regeneration project in Plymouth will open next to redevelop Armada Way sparked controversy in March 2023 when the then Conservative-run council ordered more than 100 trees to be cut down at night for the scheme was halted following an outcry from residents but was put back on track last year at more than double its original cost, and is to feature 169 new trees, a play area the size of five tennis courts, new walkways, cycle paths, seating and pop-up event project was moving "at pace" and within budget, city centre champion councillor Mark Lowry told the authority's cabinet on Monday. 'Very positive' Zone 1, from North Cross to Mayflower Street, which started last October, is almost finished and includes 10 extra trees lining each side of the performance three zones, along the boulevard which leads to the Hoe, are expected to be complete by June next said: "We do get caught up in trees for obvious reasons with this project and we wish it didn't start where it did. But we are moving on at pace, there is a very professional team up there now, and they have learnt from the hardship of doing Old Town Street and New George Street."The council's regeneration and placemaking manager, Martin Ivatt, said there was a "total change" in how people responded to the scheme since the other streets had been finished."It's gone from more adversarial to very friendly and very positive," he said. The new trees on Armada Way include 30 to 40-year-old magnolias, field maple, ginkgo and elm, which are resistant to Dutch elm disease; and Persian ironwoods, which change colour in autumn and have coloured is 1,000 sq m of wildflower turf in the first zone and 15,000 herbaceous perennials will be in place once it is will be granite and an ornamental rill will water the trees at night, and planned 'rain gardens' are part of a drainage system to stop bridges are to connect walkways with shops to stop interruption to them while work goes on underground.
The Guardian
10 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Wednesday briefing: What to expect from the Treasury's spending review announcements
Morning. It's spending review day. After weeks of tense negotiations between ministers and the Treasury, Rachel Reeves is set to unveil exactly how the government will allocate the spending it announced in last year's budget. If you're wondering what this actually means, my colleague Archie Bland helpfully explained when the process began six months ago. In short: departments outline how they want to spend money over the next few years, then negotiate with the Treasury over how much they will actually get. We already have a good idea of what will be in this spending review. The government has given the go-ahead to the Sizewell C nuclear plant; announced £15bn in transport spending across the north of England; expanded free school meals for all children whose parents receive universal credit; and unveiled a £4.7bn plan to build three new prisons. We also know which ministers settled quickly and which were deeply unhappy. Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister and housing secretary, won out after a fraught and drawn-out process to secure more funding for social housing, while the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, warned that the government would not meet its manifesto promises on crime. The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, was able to keep cash for a major programme of insulation, but it is unclear whether other schemes will be scaled back as a result. After a troubled start in government, will this spending review give Labour the reset so desperately needed? I spoke to Jessica Elgot, the Guardian's deputy political editor. But first, the headlines. Israel-Gaza | The UK placed sanctions on two extreme-right Israeli ministers over their 'monstrous' comments on Gaza. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich will face travel bans and freezing of assets. Austria | Ten people died and 12 were injured in a school shooting in Graz, Austria. The interior minister, Gerhard Karner, confirmed the 21-year-old suspect, who killed himself, was a former student at the school. US | The city of Los Angeles is instituting a curfew in downtown on Tuesday night as tensions between the Trump administration and California escalate over immigration raids, as governor Gavin Newsom warns democracy 'under assault'. UK politics | The Lib Dems have described the new Reform UK chair, David Bull, as a 'Trump sycophant'. Nigel Farage, however, says Bull's qualified doctor status will help counter Labour's 'lie machine' about the NHS. Transport | Driverless taxis are set to appear on London streets next spring, as confirmed by Uber and Wayve. The Department for Transport said the technology would make roads safer and could create 38,000 jobs. The UK has not had a full three-year spending review since 2015 because of the political turmoils of Brexit and the pandemic. There is a hugely important number that the Treasury wants front and centre this time: £113bn of capital spending. This is money for infrastructure, building schools and hospitals, that was unlocked by the change in fiscal rules before the October budget, which allowed more borrowing for long-term investment. 'For most ordinary voters, all they see the government committing to is political pain: whether that's winter fuel allowance or welfare cuts, the tough line that was taken at the budget and the spring statement,' Jessica explains. 'On lots of different issues, people have heard that there's a return to fiscal discipline, which is a phrase they associate with austerity. And every bit of polling tells you that people have just had enough of that.' This spending review, therefore, is 'some kind of recognition that while they can still be seen to be fiscally responsible to avoid a Liz Truss-style crisis, they do have to present a more positive vision. They have to try and get some political benefit.' The way they will attempt to do this, she says, is by pointing out investing in infrastructure generates economic growth and a return on that money spent, unlike day-to-day departmental spending. So expect to hear a lot of ministers talk about 'choosing investments over decline'. Jessica goes further: 'The Treasury has felt particularly aggrieved that they haven't got credit for making this change in the fiscal rules and framing up this cash. You still get people saying they need to raise taxes and the grumpy retorts to that is 'we raised £40bn worth of tax for the last budget and we changed the fiscal rules to pay for £100bn pounds of capital spending'. So this is them belatedly trying to claim credit for that in order to cover up what we expect to be a very tight spending review for departments on day-to-day spending.' Starting from scratch The process for the spending review is brutal. Departments must justify their entire budgets from scratch, known as a zero‑based review approach, then negotiate with the Treasury. Jessica adds that there is the idea during this process that departments deploy what is known as a 'bleeding stump' strategy – where, for example, they tell the Treasury that they will have to stop providing an essential service, such as cancer treatments or free school meals, if there is no change to the budget. In 2011, then Conservative minister Eric Pickles had accused Labour councils of doing this in the midst of austerity. Some ministers settled early with the Treasury, including the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, so she could announce her prison building programme. Wes Streeting's department is also set to be one of the big winners of the spending review: it will lay the groundwork for the NHS's 10-year plan. So is Angela Raynor, with the chancellor announcing nearly £40bn worth of grants to be spent over 10 years for local authorities, private developers and housing associations. Other holdouts, including the Department of Education, and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, settled recently with some decent wins. 'Some of the big beneficiaries are the defence industry. You will see capital spent on some schools and hospitals, actually slower than the ones the Tories promised, but Labour will say that that's because the Tories didn't have any money to fund things they committed to,' Jessica says. But, most importantly, 'all of these things take time to filter through'. Will voters feel better off? The multibillion-pound investment at Sizewell C on the Suffolk coast has been billed by the government as the biggest nuclear programme in a generation, and one that will 'get Britain off the fossil fuel rollercoaster'. Labour has also committed to big infrastructure projects in the north of England that should benefit populations there, but it will be a long while before those benefits are felt, Jessica says. 'That's a problem in terms of political cycles about who gets credit for what. None of this stuff is going to be built before the next election. I think that Sizewell C isn't going to be built until the end of the 2030s.' The government would argue it is building infrastructure that demonstrates the UK is a good solid place to invest. People should therefore start feeling the benefits of a growing economy. 'Your daily life should start getting less expensive, your wages should be rising, interest rates should be coming down, inflation should be coming down. That's the theory,' Jessica says. 'But you can see through the rise of Reform in the polls that people are frustrated they're not feeling that effect quickly enough.' 'Big, visible benefits' The partial U-turn on winter fuel allowance for pensioners and sluggish growth means Rachel Reeves has very little fiscal headroom for her day-to-day spending, Jessica explains. But though departments have had very tight settlements, the published accounts are not as bad as previously feared. Are there any other surprises on welfare coming, particularly on disability benefits and child poverty? 'I wouldn't expect any announcements on that front,' Jessica says. 'A lot of decisions have been deferred. On disability benefits, we're expecting very difficult welfare cuts to come at the end of June.' Labour MPs are being told that the major investments they are seeing in their constituencies are only possible because of these tough decisions, Jessica adds, with the Treasury framing it as 'making hard choices so we can afford big, visible projects that benefit everyone'. It is unclear if it will work. 'Maybe they'll be won over by that, but at the moment, not many of them are. That will be a very difficult moment.' On child poverty, the imminent taskforce report is likely to strongly recommend lifting the two-child benefit cap. There are suggestions that the prime minister is open to it. But again, it belongs in a different category of policy decisions, separate from the spending review. 'There's lots of suggestions out there that the PM himself is minded to act on that. But again, that's not a decision for tomorrow.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Nadeine Asbali responds to the calls from Tory and Reform MPs to ban the burqa. She argues that the real issue isn't what Muslim women wear, but how deeper societal issues are being ignored. Sundus Abdi, newsletters team Gaby Hinsliff's sharp critique of Sarah Vine's memoir about life as a Westminster Wag may end up outshining the book itself. Aamna Going away but worried your plants won't survive the week without you? This week's houseplant clinic covers hacks like using self-watering devices to avoid returning to a plant graveyard. Sundus Okinawa, Japan's subtropical island, witnessed the Pacific War's bloodiest battle. This stunning piece of visual journalism follows one man's relentless quest to recover the fragments of a forgotten history. Aamna Bad Bunny, PinkPantheress and Bon Iver's recent releases have all made the Guardian's list of best albums of 2025 so far. Critics have also named Erika de Casier, Japanese Breakfast and many more. Sundus Football | Nottingham Forest has written to Uefa on Crystal Palace's participation in the Europa League next season, alleging that Palace is in breach of multi-club ownership rules. Cricket | Ben Duckett hit 84 off 46 balls in England's 120-run opening stand as the hosts beat West Indies to wrap up their T20 series 3-0. Football | Arsenal Women's FC will play all of their Super League matches at the Emirates Stadium next season to 'allow more people than ever to experience a matchday'. 'UK imposes sanctions on Israeli ministers for 'inciting violence'' says the Guardian, and that's on the front of the Times too, though the splash is 'NHS 'won't hit targets' even with extra £30bn'. Top story in the Mirror is 'Social housing boost – £39bn new build' and we get more of an idea from the Financial Times: 'Reeves puts £39bn affordable homes drive at heart of bid to 'renew Britain''. 'Come on Rachel, now for family farm tax U-turn!' pleads the Express while the Mail says 'Reeves rocked by jobs slump'. The Telegraph's top story is 'Rayner drops law on rough sleepers'. The grim news from Austria – 'Revenge massacre at school' – covers the front page of the Metro. 250 days on hunger strike: Can Laila Soueif secure her son's freedom? Who is Alaa Abd el-Fattah and why are British diplomats trying to obtain his release? Patrick Wintour reports A bit of good news to remind you that the world's not all bad Just over two hours from Glasgow, a six-day hike on the Isle of Arran doubles as a journey through 500 million years of Earth's history. Newly recognised as a Unesco Geopark, the island holds traces of rocks formed by ancient magma and cliffs shaped by tectonic plate shifts. If you're lucky, you might find yourself placing your hand in a 240-million-year-old footprint left by a reptile older than dinosaurs, like Stuart Kenny did. Kenny hikes the 65-mile Arran Coastal Way, and in his words: 'I abandon the geological hunt altogether and stop to watch otters fishing.' Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday And finally, the Guardian's puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply
The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
Riot police respond to second night of violence in Ballymena
Police came under attack as violent disorder erupted for a second night in a row in Northern Ireland on Tuesday. Multiple cars and properties were set on fire in Ballymena while rioters hurled petrol bombs, fireworks and masonry at police officers. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) deployed riot police, fired plastic baton rounds, and used water cannons as well as dog units as part of its response to the disorder. In a statement, the PSNI said calm had been restored in the Clonavon Terrace, North Road and Bridge Street areas by around 1am on Wednesday. The force said there had also been 'sporadic disorder' in Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus, as well incidents in north Belfast. It came after similar violent disorder around Clonavon Terrace in the town on Monday night, following an earlier peaceful protest in the day which was organised in support of the family of a girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault in the area. The Prime Minister's official spokesman described those events – which saw police and ethnic minorities targeted – as 'very concerning'. A senior police officer condemned the disorder as 'racist thuggery'. Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson issued a public appeal for information and said the PSNI was actively working to identify those responsible for the 'racially motivated disorder in Ballymena and bring them to justice'. He said the service would deploy significant resources to any further disorder during the week. On Tuesday evening, riot police were deployed to residential streets around Clonavon Terrace on Tuesday as hundreds of people gathered in the area from approximately 7pm. The PSNI formed barricades while officers wearing armour and shields also responded to the disorder. Some masked protesters shouted abuse and threw objects at the police, including fireworks, glass bottles and pieces of metal. The PSNI advised those present to disperse and warned that water cannon would be deployed against those participating in violent activity. Police fired plastic baton rounds at some of those gathered and also used water cannons to disperse the crowd. Many young children were present among those gathered near police lines. As rioters were dispersed into other parts of the town as the evening progressed into night, a property on Bridge Street and a home on Queen Street were set on fire. Other properties had windows smashed as some residents chose to display signs about the nationalities of those normally resident, including one saying 'British household' and another with 'Filipino lives here'. Multiple cars were also set on fire as part of blazes set by rioters, including near a car wash and tyre centre off Bridge Street and on Larne Street. The clothing of at least one participant caught fire during the disorder. The PSNI cleared streets and allowed gaps in its barricades for firefighters to tackle fires in the town as chaotic scenes continued past midnight. Officers also used a drone as part of the response to illegal activity, which saw some rioters kick in doors and ransack homes. The Northern Ireland Secretary has said there is 'no justification' for attacks on police officers or vandalism. In a social media post, Hilary Benn said: 'The terrible scenes of civil disorder we have witnessed in Ballymena again this evening have no place in Northern Ireland. 'There is absolutely no justification for attacks on PSNI officers or for vandalism directed at people's homes or property.' During Monday's disorder, 15 police officers were injured and several PSNI vehicles were damaged. In Clonavon Terrace, several houses had their windows smashed and two which suffered significant smoke damage remained sealed off on Tuesday. A 29-year-old man was charged with riotous behaviour after being arrested on Monday night. Mr Henderson said other arrests are expected following the examination of video footage. The earlier peaceful protest formed in support of the family of the girl. Two 14-year-old boys appeared in court on Monday charged with attempted rape. The charges were read to the teenagers by a Romanian interpreter. On Tuesday, the PSNI said it had made a third arrest in connection with the incident and reiterated a public appeal for information. Detective Inspector Olphert from the PSNI's public protection branch said: 'A 28-year-old man was arrested yesterday evening, Monday June 9. 'He has been unconditionally released from police custody following questioning.' At a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Henderson said the attacks should be 'loudly condemned by all right-thinking people'. 'Any attempt to justify or explain it as something else is misplaced,' he said at a press conference at Ballymena police station earlier on Tuesday. He said members of the minority ethnic community 'felt fear' and there will be a significant policing operation in the town in the coming days to reassure the community. Mr Henderson said that police officers from England and Wales will be brought to Northern Ireland if needed to help the PSNI in the wake of the Ballymena disorder. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'The disorder we saw in Ballymena is very concerning. 'Obviously, the reports of sexual assault in the area are extremely distressing, but there is no justification for attacks on police officers while they continue to protect local communities. 'PSNI and the justice system must be allowed to carry out their jobs and our thoughts are with the victims of the assault as well as the police officers who were injured.'
