Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with Minister for Women and Equalities on not collecting data on the provision of authorised traveller sites for the Gypsy, Romany and Traveller community; and if he will make an assessment of the impact of not collecting that data on that community.

Government policy (the 'Planning Policy for Traveller Sites' or PPTS) is clear that local planning authorities should assess the need for traveller accommodation and identify land for sites. Local authorities are best placed to make decisions about the number and location of such sites locally, having had due regard to national policy and local circumstances.

DLUHC publishes the Traveller Caravan Count, which is compiled from information submitted by local authorities in England. Local authorities carry out the count of caravans on traveller sites twice a year, in January and July, providing a snapshot of the number of caravans on the day of the count. The Traveller Caravan Count can be viewed using this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/traveller-caravan-count.