Read on Twitter
Morning all, you may have seen in the @Telegraph and @thetimes this morning that @pritipatel will shortly announce that it will make it a criminal offence to trespass with the intention of settling. 1/n https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/15/exclusive-intentional-trespass-private-land-become-criminal/
The majority of people living on roadside camps have no place to stop because of Government failure to identify anywhere. @pritipatel's plans will therefore mean that people can be imprisoned and fined for the "crime" of having nowhere to live. 2/n
Our research, released this week, shows that there is a huge unmet need for pitches on Traveller sites, with over 1696 families on waiting lists for public sites in England. 3/n https://www.gypsy-traveller.org/planning/new-research-shows-huge-unmet-need-for-pitches-on-traveller-sites-in-england/
In September, we launched research which shows that only 21.7% of police respondents to the Home Office’s consultation felt roadside camps should be criminalised whilst 93.7% of police bodies called for site provision as the solution. 4/n https://www.gypsy-traveller.org/news/police-repeat-calls-for-more-sites-rejecting-home-office-proposals-to-criminalise-trespass/
Over the coming weeks, we will be doing all we can to stop these harmful plans. If you believe that not having a place to live is not a crime, then we need your help. Please follow us on Twitter and we will let you know actions you can take over the coming weeks. 5/n
If you or someone you love lives on a roadside camp, we are here to support you to have your voice heard in these debates, please DM us if you want to have your story shared. We can do so in a way that is safest for you 6/n
You can find our full response to today's news here:
https://www.gypsy-traveller.org/news/fft-response-to-home-office-statement-on-trespass/
https://www.gypsy-traveller.org/news/fft-response-to-home-office-statement-on-trespass/
