Today, Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) publicised its joint submission to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, alongside Roma Support Group (RSG), Gypsy and Traveller Empowerment Hertfordshire (GATE Herts), Kushti Bok, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Friendly Churches, Traveller Movement, Leeds GATE Gypsy and Traveller Exchange and York Travellers Trust.
In its submission, FFT provided updated evidence to our 2023 Pre-Sessional Working Group Report to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Since the last review, the Government has failed to take adequate steps to respect, protect and fulfil the right to education, healthcare, work, social security and an adequate standard of living for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers in the UK.
The submission highlighted and gave recommendations to address the following:
- Economic exclusion and high prevalence of precarious employment among Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people, with a need to increase employment in management, professional and senior roles.
- Barriers to applying for, receiving and maintaining benefits, and therefore increasing economic hardship for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people.
- Despite the Committee’s recommendation to the UK Government in 2016 to ‘ensure adequate access to culturally appropriate accommodation and stopping sites for Gypsy and Traveller communities…’ a chronic shortage of local authority sites for Gypsies and Travellers persists.
- Poor health outcomes and access to primary care, which are further masked by the failure to include Romany Gypsies, Roma and Irish Travellers in the NHS Data Dictionary.
- A need for more robust support to Gypsy, Irish Traveller, and Roma pupils to access and maintain education, and to address disproportionate rates of suspensions, exclusions and appeals.
- Failure to ensure migrant Roma populations living in the UK can access the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) leaving many families without settled status or unable to use settled status to access benefits, healthcare, and housing.
The full submission can be seen here.
[ENDS]
Additional Resources
Submission for the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the implementation on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Friends, Families and Travellers. January 2025. Read.
Written evidence for the 2023 Pre-Sessional Working Group Report to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Friends, Families and Travellers. January 2023. View.
