North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to respond to concerns that the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers are still not being met in North Wales.
Following a meeting with Gypsies and their supporters and friends in Conwy last week, Mr Isherwood has called for an update on Welsh Government proposals for Gypsy/Travellers in the light of two outstanding consultations; “the first being the consultation on the draft circular for The Planning of Gypsy, Traveller and showpeople sites, which closed, I believe, on 23 May, almost eight months ago; and secondly, the draft circular on Enabling Gypsies, Roma and Travellers, which closed on 22 December, just before Christmas”.
Speaking in yesterday’s Business Statement, Mr Isherwood said:
“The Gypsies and their supporters and friends I met in Conwy last Friday had been told by the Welsh Government that the first of those consultations would see the final report being published before Christmas 2017. They told me that unless a Local Authority has planning approval for a specific site, it can't apply for grant funding, but that no North Wales Local Authority is presently in a place of preparedness and planning approval to submit grant funding applications.
“They further told me that they met Welsh Government representatives in Llandudno Junction, who were grappling with what action the Cabinet Secretary could take against a Local Authority that failed to submit planning approvals and grant applications for sites, and said they judged currently that their purchase on Local Authorities for Welsh Government was fairly modest. Therefore, I would be grateful if you could, or the Welsh Government could, make a Statement reflecting those two consultations and the concerns being expressed, certainly to me last Friday, by members of the community in North Wales.”
In her response, Leader of the House Julie James AM said: “I'm the Cabinet Secretary responsible for the Gypsy/Traveller sites, and I am planning to bring a Statement before the Easter recess to the Senedd in order to update people on where I am since I took over the portfolio on a number of issues. However, the Member did mention some very specific issues around particular sites that he has an interest in and I'd be more than happy to meet with the Member to go through some of those very specific issues.”
Mr Isherwood added: “Everyone will be disadvantaged until we identify and meet the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers, enabling the provision of authorised residential and transit sites.”