Travellers

Travelling communities

Traditional travellers include Anglo-Roma Gypsies, Irish, Scottish and Welsh Travellers. They come from a long history of traveling and traditions of nomadic lifestyles. Anglo-Roma Gypsies and Irish Travellers are now recognised in this country as ethnic minority groups.

New travellers are a community of people from different backgrounds that have taken up a nomadic way of life over the last 40 years. New Travellers take to the road for economic, social or personal reasons.

This information was taken from the Friends, Families and Travellers website

Access to education and health care

The Right to Education

Everyone has the right to education - Local Authorities (LAs) must make sure that education is available for all children between 5 and 16 in their area.

LAs must also give parents in the area the opportunity to say which school they would like their child to go to.

These rules apply to children who live permanently or temporarily in the area. This includes gypsy and traveller children living with their families on temporary or unauthorised sites in their area.

Most LAs provide Traveller Education Support Services who help gypsy and travelling families to access education. In the Black Country, this is offered by the West Midlands Consortium Education Service for Travelling Children led by Pat Holmes at WMCESTC Tel: 01902 714646
e-mail:enquiries@wmcestc.biblio.net

Access to healthcare

Everyone has a right to healthcare provided by the NHS. No hospital should ever turn away someone who is the victim of an accident or illness, whoever that person may be and whether or not they have paid any national insurance contributions.

Although many gypsies and travellers go to casualty departments when they have an accident or illness, they can try to register with a local GP if they have any health problems that need attention, if they?e in an area for more than a few weeks.

The information in this section is taken in part from the Your Rights website

Useful Contacts

Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT)

An advice, information and training organisation for travellers nation-wide. The FFT website has info on topics such as education, health care, eviction and the law.
Address: FFT, Community Base, 113 Queens Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 3XG
Tel: 01273 234 777
email:fft@gypsy-traveller.org

Your Rights (the Liberty guide to Human Rights)

For a simple guide to the Human Rights Act 1988, including information on how it affects the rights of Gypsies and Travellers to access services such as education and health care
Tel: 0845 123 2307 (Liberty Advice Line)