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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many permanent Traveller sites have been created since May 2010.

In July 2014, the most recent month for which a figure is available, there were an estimated 9,313 private caravans on authorised sites with permanent planning permission in England. This compares with an estimated 7,182 private caravans on authorised sites with permanent planning permission in England in July 2011. This is the earliest month for which a national figure is available.

National and local authority data on the number of private caravans on authorised sites with permanent planning permission in England are published and are available at www.gov.uk/government/collections/traveller-caravan-count

The total number of caravans on authorised sites has risen from 14,498 in July 2010 to 16,771 in July 2014.

This shows our locally-led approach is working, with the abolition of top-down regional targets, the revocation of politically correct planning guidance, increased protection of the Green Belt and new powers for councils to tackle unauthorised sites.