Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report

1. Executive Summary

1.1. The County Council owns and manages four permanent residential Gypsy and Traveller sites and operates an unauthorised encampment/gypsy liaison service in respect of occupations of its own land and that of eight district councils under Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The Gypsy and Traveller Service has not been reviewed for many years and in late 2008 it was agreed to undertake a review.

2. Background Information

2.1. There are around 16,000 Gypsy and Traveller caravans in England¹. Around three-quarters of these caravans are on authorised sites, and most of these are well-managed and are an accepted part of the local community. The duty on local authorities to provide sites was removed in 1994, and since then under-provision of authorised sites has resulted in Gypsies and Travellers camping on land they do not own (unauthorised encampments) or developing their own land without planning permission (unauthorised developments). While the number of caravans on unauthorised encampments has started to decline, the number of caravans on unauthorised developments has increased.

2.2. The County Council now manages four sites which comprise a total of 78 individual pitches. These sites were provided when the County Council had a statutory duty under the Caravan Sites Act 1968 to develop and maintain Gypsy and Traveller sites. However, this was later repealed by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Since this date there has been no further legal requirement for the County Council or any other public authority to provide accommodation for the Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople communities.

2.3. The County Council's Gypsy and Traveller Service comprises five full time equivalent staff. Two of these are residential site managers living on site, the remaining three staff are the Gypsy Liaison Officer (GLO) and two Assistant Gypsy Liaison Officers (AGLOs) who are based in Winchester and deal with strategic issues, site management and unauthorised encampments. This service is provided for County Council land and, under Service Level Agreements (SLAs), for eight District Councils' land.

2.4. The Housing Act 2004 places the legal responsibility on local housing authorities to identify and ultimately provide suitable and appropriate Gypsy and Traveller accommodation. Specifically, Section 225 of the Housing Act 2004 requires local authorities to assess the accommodation needs of `Gypsies and Travellers' either living in or residing in their district. This assessment should be carried out as part of the review of housing needs under the Local Housing Needs Assessment process. The Act also requires local authorities to include the needs of 'Gypsies and Travellers' in any housing strategy, and to take any such strategy into account when they are exercising their other functions, such as planning, education and social care

2.5. The former South East England Regional Assembly (now the South East Partnership Board (SEPB)) has undertaken a partial review of the South East Plan and has recently proposed additional Gypsy and Traveller accommodation in the South East, including a requirement for 143 permanent and 44 transit pitches within Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. This will be considered at an Examination in Public between 2 and 5 February 2010, with publication of the Panel Report by early summer 2010, and publication of the final policy around the end of 2010. The County Council has made written representations to the Panel and will be present at the Examination. This will determine the extent to which additional accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers must be provided within Hampshire. This duty will fall to the district councils to discharge.

3. The Gypsy and Traveller Review

3.1. The Service Review has been conducted by:

· consultation with District and Unitary Council representatives on their proposals for Gypsies and Travellers

· a stakeholder workshop

· consultation with residents on Gypsy and Traveller sites

· consultation with County, District and Unitary consultants.

3.2. The stakeholder workshop was hosted by the County Council, and explored options for the future management of the permanent accommodation that already exists, and the delivery and management of future permanent and transit accommodation that will need to be provided to satisfy the SEPB's requirements.

3.3. Twelve County Councils have been contacted to establish a benchmark with regard to the management and ownership of residential Gypsy and Traveller sites. The majority of residential sites are managed by either District/ Unitary Councils or Housing Associations. Only a low percentage are still managed by County Councils.

4. Finance

4.1. The County Council-controlled residential sites are at Bury Brickfields (Marchwood), Tynefield (Segensworth), Star Hill (Hartley Wintney) and Penny Hill (Yateley). The County Council owns the freehold of three sites, but leases the Star Hill site from The Elvetham Estate, with all infrastructure owned by the County Council. This lease is due to end on 25 March 2013.

4.2. Each pitch is currently licensed to the Gypsy and Travellers at £45 per week, plus £7 per week for water. Residents are sold pre-paid electricity cards by the residential site managers and AGLOs. The rental figure of £45 reflects District Council housing benefit levels and includes some discretionary hardship payments. This is a lower charge than in some other areas.

4.3. At present, the Gypsy and Traveller Service operates an annual budgeted deficit of £110,000 per annum. However, this is generally overspent by up to an additional £50,000 per year. Most of this is attributable to the residential sites which incur a cost of around £330,000 per annum (including staff and accommodation costs) whilst generating income of around £223,000. Leaving a net deficit to the County Council of around £107,000 per annum.

4.4. In 2004 each permanent site had its own residential site manager but since then increased efficiencies have been secured and this has been reduced by 50% with now only two residential managers and the two AGLOs assisting with site management as required.

4.5. The cost of dealing with the unauthorised encampments on County Council and District Council land has been around £50,000 with a small income of around £8,000 received from providing support for other local authorities. This equates to £470 per encampment including staff time and clean-up costs charged to the service (other clean-up costs are charged to client departments or other district councils).

4.6. The service has been working to reduce the differential between expenditure and income. This has been done in a number of ways, including the introduction of a computer-based electricity sales system and water metering, and staffing efficiencies by having in post only two residential managers with assistance from AGLOs as required.

5. Current levels of activity within the Service

5.1. The Service has dealt with the following unauthorised encampments on County Council land and District land over the last few years.

5.2. It has also worked with all other local authorities within the Hampshire sub-region on compiling the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation and Travelling Show People Assessments in connection with the South East Plan proposals. This work still continues, with representations being made by the County Council to the EIP scheduled for February 2010.

5.3. The Service has also in the past provided advice to Parish and Town Councils on putting in place defensive measures, and more recently private businesses have approached the County Council for advice. It appears there may well be a business case to expand this area of activity, to the general benefit of residents and businesses in Hampshire. This is considered further in the options section of the report.

6. Options

6.1. The Review has concluded that the two parts of the current Gypsy and Traveller Service (ie, the residential site management , and the wider unauthorised encampment element) should now be separated. The rationale for this is that the unauthorised encampment element remains important to the County Council's management of its substantial landholdings and as such cannot be viewed in isolation. The management of the residential sites is a discrete stand-alone activity.

6.2. The options in respect of the residential site management are:

a) Continue as existing

b) Cease maintaining the sites as soon as practicable

c) Continue to operate the sites on an interim basis whilst arrangements are made to transfer them to a more appropriate body

d) If 6.2. c) is the preferred option to consider offering the County Council's services to manage the sites on a full cost basis.

6.3. The Review Panel consulted on these different options for the residential sites and the following conclusions were drawn:

a) Continue as existing - As a result of the 2004 legislation, the County Council is no longer under a duty to provide accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers. The residential sites are expensive to run, and although efficiencies have been achieved it is difficult to see how the sites can be managed without incurring a financial deficit. This option is therefore not recommended.

b) Cease maintaining the sites as soon as practicable - Although at first this may appear attractive, the residential sites offer relatively settled accommodation to a number of Gypsy and Traveller families, and are essential in reducing the number of unauthorised encampments. Throughout the consultations no support was evident for closing the sites without first making alternative provision. This option is also not recommended.

c) Continue to operate the sites on an interim basis whilst arrangements are made to transfer them to a more appropriate body - This was generally considered to be the preferred option. It is now the responsibility of the local planning authority / local housing authority to ensure that adequate provision is made for the housing needs of the Gypsy and Traveller community. It is therefore proposed to open discussions concerning future transfer of responsibility with each district council in whose administrative area the four residential sites are located. It is recommended that the residential sites be transferred on this basis and that a timescale of three years be allowed.

d) If c) is the preferred option it is likely that the district councils will have difficulty in managing the residential sites individually. It is therefore suggested that the County Council provides a management service, either on an interim basis until alternative arrangements are in place, or on a more permanent basis. Either way, this should be on a full cost basis.

6.4. The options in respect of the unauthorised encampment and wider Gypsy and Traveller Service are:

a) Cease to maintain the Service

b) Retain the Service broadly as existing (serving primarily the County Council's own landholdings)

c) Expand the Service to include other landowners and businesses, on a full cost basis

6.5. The Review Panel consulted on these different options for the wider Gypsy and Traveller Service and the following conclusions were drawn:

a) Cease to maintain the Service - There was no support for this option. All consultees recognised the value of the Gypsy and Traveller Service in providing a degree of management of unauthorised encampments. Legislation prevents the County Council from evicting Gypsies and Travellers from its land without following proper process, and the time this takes sometimes gives rise to local criticism. However, the Gypsy and Traveller Service does, in practice, respond quickly and effectively to reports of Gypsy and Traveller activity, and liaises with both the Gypsies and local residents to minimise the impact of unauthorised encampments so far as possible. This is highly valued, and Members whose electoral divisions have been the subject of unauthorised encampments have been especially supportive. If the County Council ceased to maintain the service it is unclear how such encampments would be removed without incurring substantial additional time and cost. This is not therefore recommended.

b) Retain the Service broadly as existing (serving primarily the County Council's own landholdings) - This was considered to be the bare minimum that could be recommended. The County Council still has an effective service in respect of its own landholdings, and potentially also the small number of district councils that currently buy into the Service. It would be possible to proceed on this basis but consultees generally felt there could be a larger role for the Service, and that a business case for expansion should be explored.

c) Expand the Service to include other landowners and businesses, on a full cost basis - There is very little local expertise in respect of Gypsy and Traveller issues outside of the County Council. Consultees generally felt that the work of the Service could be expanded to include more background work that in the long-term might assist with managing Gypsy and Traveller activity in Hampshire. This might include education and training (such as for the Police, landowners and agents), health and welfare, creating more awareness within the Gypsy and traveller community of issues that concern local communities. Consultees felt a business case for expanding the Service should be explored, although recognised this would need to generate income to make it sustainable. This is therefore the preferred option, with b) as the fallback.

7. Recommendations

7.1. That the findings of the Gypsy and Traveller Service Review be endorsed and, in particular, the following proposals be approved:

a) That the County Council continues to operate the four residential sites on an interim basis and arrangements be made to transfer the sites by January 2013 to more appropriate bodies.

b) That the County Council to offer site management services to appropriate bodies on a full cost basis.

c) That the principle of expanding the Gypsy and Traveller Service in respect of unauthorised encampment be endorsed.

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

Links to the Corporate Strategy

IMPACT ASSESSMENTS:

1. Equalities Impact Assessment:

1.1. An equalities impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified.

2. Impact on Crime and Disorder:

2.1. The County Council has a legal obligation under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to consider the impact of all the decisions it makes on the prevention of crime. The proposals in this report will have a positive impact on the prevention of crime

3. Climate Change:

3.1. the proposal to pass risk and responsibility of the permanent sites to Local Authorities will reduce considerably our carbon footprint and energy consumption.

3.2. This proposal requires no adaptation to climate change.