Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Social Justice – in the Senedd at 1:52 pm on 1 March 2023.
Thank you, Minister. I attended the excellent event, hosted by the Llywydd, which was celebrating how people fleeing persecution have found sanctuary in Wales. But we cannot deny that some communities are more welcome than others, and the Gypsy and Traveller community do not feel welcome; they feel persecuted. And it is disappointing that local authorities are proactive in proposing new sites for motor homes and camper vans to park, but produce no proposals for new Gypsy and Traveller sites, or indeed for upgrading existing ones.
So, Minister, thank you very much for the written statement you issued earlier this afternoon, where you talk about working with local authorities and the Gypsy and Traveller communities to identify the extent of the requirements and understand the barriers that still exist to prevent progress. I want to question why this work has not gone on before. But I would also like a timescale for the end of those discussions, and then the detailed discussions that need to take place with local authorities on where we are going to now make progress on delivering the sites that are so desperately needed, particularly in light of the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, which criminalises people for stopping on unauthorised sites.