Guidance for managing unauthorised encampments - Chapter 1: introduction

An unauthorised encampment is an encampment of caravans and/or vehicles on land without the landowner’s or occupier’s consent and which constitutes a trespass.

The title of this guidance is updated from managing unauthorised camping to managing unauthorised encampments to reflect the broader range of situations where such activities may occur. This change is intended to foster a more inclusive approach in addressing the needs and challenges faced by Gypsy and Traveller communities.

An unauthorised encampment may be made up of any group of individuals or vehicles trespassing on land. However, this guidance is aimed at addressing the specific issues around the unauthorised encampments of Gypsies and Travellers.

An unauthorised encampment is different to cases where land has been bought and occupied by Gypsies and Travellers without the appropriate planning permission being in place. That is known as a private site without planning permission, which is not covered in this guidance.

Unauthorised encampments can be a source of tension within communities and require sensitive handling as local and public authorities need to balance the rights of Gypsies and Travellers and those of local residents.

The Welsh Government’s Anti-racist Wales Action Plan reflects the importance of culturally appropriate accommodation for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. Its goal is: 

“To recognise that safe, culturally appropriate accommodation is necessary in order for individuals to flourish in other parts of their lives and to address the lack of site provision and poor quality of Gypsy and Traveller accommodation in Wales”.

The Welsh Government is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all sections of the community and Gypsies and Travellers must have the same access to culturally appropriate, safe and suitable accommodation as all other members of the community.

The response to the community engagement of this guidance was clear: Gypsy and Traveller families are seeking a respectful approach, one that prioritises listening to all viewpoints and seeks to understand why unauthorised encampments occur. All parties should demonstrate cultural awareness and recognise that Gypsies and Travellers follow a nomadic way of life.

Applying a human rights-based approach to developing Gypsy and Traveller sites is essential to ensuring fairness, inclusion, and a genuinely collaborative approach to ensure the needs of Gypsies and Traveller communities are met. This approach aligns with the Guidance’s emphasis on co-production, the Public Sector Equality Duty, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, all of which highlight the importance of inclusive and representative engagement.

These elements provide a strong foundation for local authorities to apply to their approach to responding to an unauthorised encampment, where it is recognised rights are inherent to all individuals.

‘Gypsies and Travellers’ are defined in section 108 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 as follows:

• Persons of a nomadic habit of life, whatever their race or origin, including:
  • persons who, on grounds only of their own or their family’s or dependant’s educational or health needs or old age, have ceased to travel temporarily or permanently, and
  • members of an organised group of travelling show people or circus people (whether or not travelling together as such); and
• All other persons with a cultural tradition of nomadism or of living in a mobile home.

The intention of the above definition is to ensure ethnic Romani Gypsies and Irish Travellers are included, as well as those from any ethnic group who follow a nomadic habit of life. The definition also includes Travelling Showpeople. New Travellers will also be captured by the definition if they follow a cultural tradition of nomadism.

Whilst each of these groups are associated with the travelling and nomadic way of life and may share some common beliefs and practices, each group have distinctive languages, traditions, and ethnicities, and are also likely to have different needs for use of temporary encampments.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), local authorities are under a statutory obligation to uphold the rights of children and young people, including their right to express their views freely in all matters affecting them. This duty is particularly pertinent when responding to unauthorised encampments, where decisions are likely to have direct and significant impacts on children’s welfare and living conditions.

In accordance with Welsh Government guidance and the principles enshrined in the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011, it is imperative that local authorities embed a child rights-based approach throughout all stages of their engagement and decision-making processes. Article 27 of the UNCRC gives children the right to an adequate standard of living and Article 19, where children have the right to be protected from harm.

Article 31, which upholds the right for children to rest, leisure, and play, highlights the necessity of safe and accessible play spaces.

Unauthorised encampments may, in some circumstances, have limited access to vital services such as sanitation and waste management and may be associated with increased exposure to environmental dangers, discrimination, and social exclusion.  These factors can adversely impact the standard of living for children living on such sites.

Together, these provisions provide a framework for ensuring that children and young people are not only considered in terms of future housing needs but are respected as individuals with current rights, experiences, and perspectives that must shape the environments they live in.

The Welsh Government is committed to the principle of treating the Welsh and English languages on a basis of equality. The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 (the “Measure”) makes provision for the specification of standards of conduct in relation to the Welsh language. The current standards for local authorities and Welsh Ministers are specified in the Welsh Language Standards (No. 1) Regulations 2015.

The Welsh Language Commissioner has issued a compliance notice on the Welsh Ministers specifying which of the standards currently apply to any activity or service provided by or on behalf of the Welsh Ministers.

Each local authority is subject to its own Welsh Language Compliance Notice, which is enforced by the Welsh Language Commissioner.

Gypsies and Travellers are indigenous to Wales. The latest 2021 Census estimated that around 3,600 of the usual resident population of Wales (0.1%) identified as Gypsy or Irish Traveller across Wales. The Welsh Government commission all Welsh local authorities to carry out their caravan count twice a year. These commissions are used to monitor caravan counts as part of the local authorities monitoring of accommodation needs, which is used as data when carrying out a Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA).

This figure is likely to be an under-estimate, given that it is measuring a transitory population and as there is often under-reporting of ethnicity data. However, it is clear that there are more Gypsies and Travellers and caravans in Wales than there are permanent pitches or either transit or temporary/negotiated stopping places. At the time of publication, there are no temporary/negotiated stopping places or transit sites in Wales.

The caravan count is also likely to underestimate the true number of caravans on unauthorised encampments in Wales. The count relies on local authority officials updating and reconciling data on or soon after the chosen count dates, and a small number of local authorities may be unable to complete these actions for any given count. Additionally, unauthorised encampments may go undetected by local authorities, especially in larger rural areas and be omitted from the count.

The caravan count provides a snapshot of caravans and sites present around 2 days in January and July. By its design it captures only the caravans counted around those days, and therefore these figures will not reflect the nomadic nature of Gypsies and Travellers and the frequency with which they require temporary accommodation. Nor does the caravan count give any evidence around migratory patterns.

In Wales, unauthorised encampments tend to occur along the main transport routes which traditionally provided opportunities for work as well as access to the main ports for Ireland. The main routes are found along the M4 corridor as the main route from east to west in the south of Wales, the A470 as the main route from north to south Wales and along the A55 as the link from east to west in the north of Wales. However, encampments are found throughout Wales, often nowhere near these busy routes.

In addition, Gypsies and Travellers may revisit the same areas if they know there is access to the facilities they need or have had good experiences with local authorities.

A lack of transit and temporary/negotiated stopping places provision can lead to unauthorised encampments. Gypsies and Travellers who are nomadic typically use unauthorised encampments for short periods of time, days, or weeks, before moving on again. 

Some local authorities in Wales may have more unauthorised encampments than others. However, all local authorities are likely to experience some unauthorised encampments and should have policies and procedures in place to ensure that they are dealt with in a way that is effective, safe, and sensitive to all parties involved. To facilitate this, the Welsh Government has developed this guidance to assist local authorities to develop their own policies and in doing so support the Gypsy and Traveller way of life.

This guidance is aimed at anyone dealing with unauthorised encampments of Gypsies and Travellers but is of particular importance for local authorities in Wales, who have a number of legal duties to ensure the well-being of these communities.

However the guidance may also be of use by other land owners including other public authorities, such as National Park Authorities or Health Boards, as well as those attending unauthorised sites and assisting local authorities in their statutory duties, for example health visitors, Traveller Education Services (TES), and police forces.

Although this guidance is not aimed primarily at Gypsies and Travellers who may temporarily reside on an unauthorised encampment, some community members may find it to be a useful introduction to their rights and responsibilities in such a situation. Similarly, the draft ‘Police Forces Protocols on Managing Unauthorised Encampments’ will help community members understand potential police involvement with unauthorised encampments.

For the purposes of this guidance the landowner will generally be the local authority. The Welsh Government recognises that unauthorised encampments do not occur exclusively on local authority owned land. However, different procedures and requirements apply to private land owners, who do not owe any statutory duties towards the community in the same was as local and other public authorities. Procedures relating to private land owners rules will be explored briefly later in the document.

Where land belongs to the Welsh Government or any other public authority, the local authority retains responsibility for meeting each of their statutory duties for those on the unauthorised encampments within their area.

Local authorities have a range of statutory duties towards Gypsies and Travellers residing and resorting within their area. Some of the main duties are listed below, which will generally apply irrespective of whether individuals are on a local authority site or unauthorised encampment.

Gypsies and Travellers are entitled to protection under the Equality Act 2010. Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers have both been recognised as distinct racial groups for the purposes of that Act. The Act prohibits unlawful discrimination, harassment, and victimisation on the grounds of a person’s race and protects Gypsies and Travellers from unfair treatment or discrimination in a variety of fields, including in the exercise of public functions and the provision of services.

The Equality Act 2010 also requires all local and public authorities, whenever exercising their functions, to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is prohibited under that Act. Local authorities must also advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between persons of different racial backgrounds. This includes having due regard, in particular, to the need to:

• remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by persons for reasons connected to their race
• take steps to meet the needs of persons of a particular race that are different from the needs of persons from other racial backgrounds
• tackle prejudice and promote understanding

Local authorities have statutory duties in relation to the homeless and those threatened with homelessness under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014. Gypsies and Travellers living in caravans with nowhere to legally station them are likely to be legally homeless under that Act.

The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 also imposes express duties on local authorities to carry out an assessment of the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers residing in or resorting to their area and to provide sites on which mobile homes may be stationed so far as may be necessary to meet those needs. It is therefore clear that local authorities must meet the transit accommodation needs of those resorting to their areas.

Part 4 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 imposes a statutory duty on local authorities to meet the needs of children where it is deemed necessary to protect them from abuse, neglect, or other forms of harm. This duty is overriding and applies irrespective of the outcome of any eligibility determination. In practice, this means that if a local authority identifies that a child is at risk, it must take appropriate action to safeguard and promote the child’s well-being, regardless of whether the child would otherwise qualify for support under standard eligibility criteria. The provision ensures that the welfare and safety of children remain paramount in all local authority interventions.

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2015 also places a general duty on public authorities to promote the well-being of adults who need care and support. This general duty may be particularly relevant when dealing with families at the roadside who may need assistance to access support services.

The Act also requires local authorities to have due regard to the United Nations Principles for Older Persons (as adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 16th December 1991). Local authorities carrying out functions under the Act in relation to children with needs for care and support, child carers with needs for support and looked after and accommodated children must also have due regard to Part 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (see General Assembly resolution 44/25 of November 1989.

Under section 13 of the Education Act 1996, a local authority must contribute towards the spiritual, moral, mental, and physical development of the community by securing that efficient primary education and secondary education are available to meet the needs of the population of their area.

The Welsh Government recommends that local authorities conduct a welfare assessment on all residents living on an unauthorised encampment on publicly owned land to ensure that the authority is meeting each of the statutory duties listed above. This is the case even where the land on which an unauthorised encampment has been set up is not owned by the local authority but is instead owned by the Welsh Government or another public authority. This will allow the local authority to clearly demonstrate that they have taken account of their responsibilities towards those living on unauthorised sites within their area.

Local authorities should undertake a welfare assessment on all those on an unauthorised encampment to understand their needs and to ensure those needs are addressed as required under the statutory duties of the local authority. The local authority should also liaise with other services that may have responsibilities towards the occupiers. These checks should be done as quickly as possible, ideally within 24 hours of the local authority becoming aware of the encampment, (as far as this is reasonably practicable). A welfare assessment pro-forma can be found at Annex 3.

Carrying out a welfare assessment will help local authorities understand the families’ accommodation needs and whether they require a pitch on a transit site or a temporary/negotiated stopping place. It also supports efforts to promote safety and wellbeing, particularly for children and young people, by identifying and managing potential risks at an early stage.

There can be considerable clean-up costs incurred by local authorities following the departure of an unauthorised encampment, whether voluntarily or as a result of court action. However, providing refuse collection, toilets, and water to occupiers can significantly reduce these clean-up costs. Welfare assessments can help local authorities to ascertain which of these services might be required by the occupiers.

The guidance aims to:

• provide all parties involved in unauthorised encampments clear guidance on their roles, responsibilities, and rights
• ensure a fair, consistent and lawful approach to dealing with unauthorised encampments which takes into account the interests and rights of all those involved
• set out recommended courses of action i.e. a step-by-step guide of what to do when dealing with an unauthorised encampment
• share current good practice examples
• provide templates for local authorities when undertaking welfare assessments
• summarise the enforcement powers in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, as inserted by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022