Unauthorised encampments: criminalisation of trespass

Early day motion 1685, tabled 23 March 2021 by Andrew Slaughter (Labour). Signed by 23 members.

That this House believes the response to unauthorised encampments by Gypsies and Travellers lies not in criminalising trespass but by providing sufficient permanent and temporary sites and by greater use of negotiated stopping; is concerned that Part 4 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will destroy a nomadic way of life that has existed in Britain since the early sixteenth century; notes that the local authority Gypsy and Traveller sites which currently exist in England only came into being because of the duty to provide sites established by the Caravan Sites Act 1968 but repealed by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994; further notes that the Welsh Government have reintroduced a duty to meet the assessed need for sites through Section 103 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014; urges the UK Government to accept the reintroduction of such a duty as essential to avoid breaching the human rights of Gypsies and Travellers; and requests that Part 4 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill should be withdrawn immediately and replaced with a legal duty to provide adequate permanent and temporary sites.

Signatures by party: Labour 14, Plaid Cymru 3, Scottish National Party 2, Alliance 1, DUP 1, Green 1, Independent 1.