Crime and Policing Bill

Baroness Whitaker Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2026 Lords Chamber

There is a revised National Planning Policy Framework which is currently out for consultation through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government until 10 March. However, I will listen to what my noble friend says, and what anybody from the Liberal Democrats says in support of their amendments. I thought I would just use these introductory comments to both move the amendment and say that we recognise that the National Planning Policy Framework needs to be examined, and that is why it is currently out for consultation on the very issue that the amendments address. I beg to move.

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

My Lords, I first declare an interest as president of Friends, Families and Travellers and the Advisory Council for the Education of Romany and other Travellers, and co-chair of the relevant APPG. It is in that connection that I applaud these amendments. They right an acknowledged wrong, a breach of the Human Rights Act, the remedy for which was fought for in the courts by a brave Romany Gypsy, Wendy Smith. They will give our few remaining nomadic families some limited means of continuing to live in the way the courts have agreed they are entitled to.

As my noble friend the Minister said in the meeting he called to discuss the amendment, for which I, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester, who is not in his place, our colleagues in the NGOs, Wendy Smith’s barrister and the few thousand Travellers affected—and it is only a few thousand—are very grateful, it is “a stage in a journey”. That journey is the path to equal treatment and the end of the dwelling discrimination which comes from the lack of permitted sites. The actions to move farther along in the journey through greater provision of sites do not lie with his department, but my noble friend the Minister has helpfully said something more about the future. If he has any details on timing and more precise allocation of responsibility, we should welcome them. As I said, they are not inherently matters for his department, but I would like to hear the whole Government supporting this. I commend these amendments.

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as a member of the APPG for Gypsies, Travellers and Roma, and speak in support of Amendments 375, 466 and 468. I thank the Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Hanson, for his introduction to this important group of amendments. As has been said, this is the start of a journey to reach equality of access to services for those currently living a nomadic life.

Several noble Lords across the Chamber made representations against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, brought in under the previous Government in 2022 and subsequently ruled to be a breach of the Human Rights Act. Those who objected listed the effect the new restrictions would have on family life, those with health issues and access to education, et cetera. In a society that purports to uphold the rationale of equality for all, it is unacceptable to discriminate against those who follow a different lifestyle from the majority of us.

I have long campaigned for legislation to require every local authority to provide permitted permanent sites for Gypsies and Travellers alongside permitted temporary stopping sites for those who travel as part of their culture and way of life. This has always been rejected by Governments of different political persuasions, and I welcome the Minister’s comments this evening on the provision of sites in the future.

I am now lucky enough to live in an area that has adequate, decent provision for those identified as Gypsy, Roma or Traveller. Several of those sites are within a short walk of my home. I am delighted that those people are able to be married in the church in which I also worship, and that they are able to grieve the passing of their loved ones in the same environment. Everyone should be able to access education for their children, alongside healthcare for their elderly, even if they are moving from area to area around the country. A stopping place or site which allows this to happen should be a right, and not left to a local landowner to permit for short periods.

This small group of amendments is not a magic wand to ensure that sites appear overnight, but it is a step in the right direction to help families raise their children in a relatively safe environment. I support the Minister’s amendments.