Oral Answers to Questions

Richard Graham Excerpts

Thursday 15th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

10. Whether he plans to bring forward proposals to facilitate local authorities in moving Travellers on from private and public property.

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

15. If he will take steps to accelerate the process for local authorities to gain possession of public land upon which there are unauthorised Traveller encampments.

[The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Eric Pickles)]

The Government will ensure that, where local authorities have made appropriate provision for authorised sites in their area, reflecting genuine local need and historic demand, they will have stronger enforcement powers to deal with unauthorised encampments. We are reviewing how this can be achieved.

[Mr Pickles]

We have to remember that a significant number of Gypsies and Travellers are themselves law-abiding citizens. What we want to see is fair play within our planning system. The overwhelming majority of Travellers abide by the rules, but we will ensure that those small minorities that do not are no longer encouraged to do so by the law.

[Richard Graham]

Twice in the last year, Travellers have smashed through gates to invade Plock court—an important green space on the edge of my Gloucester constituency. The process for moving Travellers on from public land is much longer than for moving them on from private land. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this disruption could be significantly reduced if the law for both were aligned?

[Mr Pickles]

We shall look towards speeding up the process, but it is important to understand that the operation of the law at the moment is predicated not on seeking easy resolution, but on conflict. What we are threatened with as a result of the planning laws having been allowed to slip is a genuine attack on social cohesion. Doing something about that is a priority for this Government; that is why we seek to ensure fairness for all.