Issue - meetings

Report by the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport.

29.1     Team Manager Gypsy and Travellers introduced the report and outlined that the Gypsy and Travellers Team undertakes a range of work to manage four permanent sites; the transit site at Bridies Tan; and unauthorised encampments in East Sussex. Partnership work with the Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) Traveller Team, West Sussex County Council and Sussex Police has been successful in reducing the number of unauthorised encampments. The Team has started working with Surrey County Council which does not have a transit site, which means they are experiencing a higher number of unauthorised encampments.

29.2     The Team undertakes liaison and support work with Traveller families to improve health and education outcomes, as well as working to build links and bridges between both Traveller and Settled communities. The Team also engages with site users at the transit site to ensure health or education needs are met and has a link with local doctor for health issues.

29.3     The Committee discussed the report and made a number of comments, which are summarised below.

Site provision

29.4     The Committee asked if ESCC has been able to influence the Borough and District councils to make additional site provision. The Team Manager Gypsy and Travellers outlined that he has quarterly meetings to discuss this issue with the Borough and District councils. At present there are 25 families that are on the waiting list for a permanent site. The transit site is resource for people moving through East Sussex, but it does not answer the need to create more permanent provision. The Traveller Team are managing sites to maximise occupancy and will fill any vacancies.

Budget

29.5     The net budget for the Service is £110,000 per annum, with income coming from two sources. Part of the income comes from contributions from the five Borough and District councils and Sussex Police. The remaining income is made up from fees and charges for pitches. There are limited opportunities to increase income and the Team would struggle if it were reduced in size. A reduction in staffing might also have an impact on rent collection and the financial contributions from partners.

29.6     The Committee noted that all the Borough and District councils are charged the same amount, so some are paying more per capita than others. The Committee asked if it is possible to change the basis of charging. The Director of CET responded that the service is not related to the population of a given area, and the service provided changes and fluctuates. It may, therefore, be inappropriate to introduce a more complicated charging mechanism.

29.7     The Committee RESOLVED to note the report and indicated that it would like to undertake a visit to the Traveller sites in future, if possible.