This book appears at a crucial moment. At the time of writing, the progress and modest gains made for Gypsies and Travellers, most notably in the form of increased site provision and levels of social inclusion, appear to be in jeopardy. As this book visibly demonstrates, Gypsies and Travellers remain one of the most excluded minority groups in society, yet it is feared that this situation could be aggravated through cuts in local and national funding, which are seeing the loss and erosion of valuable targeted services for Gypsies and Travellers, most notably in the shrinkage of the national network of Traveller Education Services. One of the most emotive issues has been erosion and fragmentation of the hopes built up for the delivery of a sufficient number of new sites to address the acute national shortage as had been promised through regional targets and planning strategies and the Planning Circular 01/06. Sadly, these were repealed by the Localism Act 2011.

The lessons of history on this subject appear to have been discarded. Adequate site provision, both permanent and transit, is the answer to the problem of unauthorised encampments. The Caravan Sites Act 1968, which I sponsored as an MP, required local authorities to provide sites for Gypsies and Travellers residing in or resorting to their areas. Unfortunately, the duty was repealed in 1994, and although by that time 350 or so local authority Gypsy and Traveller sites had been constructed in England and Wales, there still remained a significant shortfall in site provision. Many local authorities had ignored their statutory duty and the ministerial power of direction in section 9(2) of the Act had only been used towards the end of the legislation's life. The few directions that were issued did have some effect in galvanising backward local authorities. The shortfall remains, caused by the failure of successive governments and local authorities to ensure adequate provision. This has led to the endemic situation of unauthorised encampments and unauthorised developments, and it is essential that a policy of ensuring adequate site provision is promoted if any positive steps are to be made in tackling that problem.