Welcome to the March edition of

Spotlight: Policy and Campaigning Bulletin

Welcome to our March Spotlight! Read on to find out about our work over the last month and remember to follow us on social media for regular updates.

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In the Spotlight

Welcome from the CEO

March has been an important and encouraging month for the Traveller Movement, with meaningful progress across our public affairs, research and community engagement work.

We began the month by launching Uneven Paths, our joint briefing with the Women’s Budget Group, which highlights the intersecting inequalities faced by Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Irish Traveller women. The response from parliamentarians and stakeholders has been strong, and we look forward to continuing these discussions with the Department for Education in April as we push for policy change that reflects the lived realities of women in our communities.

With local elections approaching in May, we also re-launched Operation Traveller Vote, a major initiative to strengthen democratic participation and ensure that our communities’ voices are heard at the ballot box. Hustings in Bradford, Kingston & Chelsea and Southwark have already demonstrated the appetite for constructive dialogue between candidates and communities, and this work will continue in the coming weeks.

This month we also took the lead in coordinating a sector-wide letter to the Cabinet Office calling for a review of the use of the term “GRT” (Gypsy, Roma, Traveller) across government guidance and data collection. While often intended as an inclusive shorthand, the term can obscure the distinct identities, experiences and policy needs of Romani (Gypsy), Roma and ethnic Traveller communities. Our letter calls for more accurate ethnic monitoring, clearer terminology and the routine publication of disaggregated data so that policy interventions can be better targeted and evaluated. If you would like to support this call by signing the letter you still can. We have extended until after the Easter Holidays. To access the letter, click here.

In Parliament, we saw a significant policy breakthrough with the Government agreeing to amend the Crime and Policing Bill to reduce the 12-month exclusion period introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act back to three months. This represents an important step toward reversing one of the most disproportionate and harmful measures affecting nomadic families in recent years.

Alongside this, our education and criminal justice teams have continued to highlight systemic inequalities through new research and engagement with parliamentary inquiries. From the disproportionate exclusion of Roma pupils in Bradford schools to the continued overrepresentation of our communities in youth custody, the evidence remains clear: structural barriers continue to shape outcomes across multiple public systems.

Despite these challenges, the progress achieved this month shows the impact of sustained, community-led advocacy. As we move into the pre-election period, we will continue working with partners, policymakers and communities to ensure that our voices are not only heard but acted upon in the language government uses, in the data it collects, and in the policies it delivers.

Yvonne MacNamara
Chief Executive Officer

March Updates

Influencing National Policy Frameworks

The Traveller Movement launched a new joint briefing paper  "Uneven Paths: Tackling Intersecting Inequalities Facing Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Irish Traveller Women”with the think tank the Women’s Budget Group last month and we continue to promote its recommendations.

It found that women from Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Irish Traveller communities face entrenched, overlapping discrimination across education, health and social care,

employment and the criminal justice

system, exposing how ethnicity and gender intersect to produce persistent inequalities, including lower educational attainment, limited employment opportunities, serious health disparities, underreported violence against women and girls, and disproportionate representation in the criminal justice system.

The briefing paper was circulated to all MPs with a Traveller site in their constituency as well as members of the Women’s and Equalities Select Committee, the equalities minister and wider stakeholders. We have a follow up meeting with the Department of Education in April.

Review of 'GRT' Terminology in Government Guidance

The Traveller Movement is currently coordinating a sector-wide letter to the

Cabinet Office calling for a review of the use of the term “GRT” (Gypsy, Roma, Traveller) across government policy, guidance and monitoring frameworks.

While the term is widely used as a convenient umbrella label, it can mask the distinct identities, legal statuses and lived experiences of Romani (Gypsy), Roma and ethnic Traveller communities. This lack of precision has real-world consequences, including:

inconsistent ethnic monitoring

limited availability of disaggregated data

policy interventions that fail to reach the communities most in need

The letter draws on our updated briefing, The Importance of Accurate Ethnic Monitoring and Data Inclusion for Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Ethnic Traveller (Irish/Scottish) Communities, and calls on government to adopt clearer terminology and improve data collection practices to support more effective and equitable policymaking.

We are inviting civil society organisations, academics and community groups to add their support.

Add your organisation’s support here:

https://forms.gle/MX7yLAaCJPyNRpWEA

By speaking with a unified voice, the sector can help ensure that government language, monitoring and policy better reflect how communities identify themselves and enable more targeted, evidence-based interventions.

Operation Traveller Vote: May 2026 Elections

March marked the launch of Operation Traveller Vote - more information can be found on our websitehere  - in the run up to the May 2026 local elections.  Hustings events have been held in Bradford, Southwark and Kensington and Chelsea throughout March. We have circulated a briefing on how to meaningfully engage with Roma (Gypsy), Roma and Irish Traveller communities to all MPs with Traveller sites in their constituency for use by local candidates. 

Our hustings in Southwark coincided with London Democracy Week whose conference we attended to promote the work of Operation Traveller Vote. The Policy team are shortly meeting with the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Electoral Commission to present the work of Operation Traveller Vote in raising democratic awareness and engagement amongst the Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Irish Traveller communities with the possibility of further grant funding to continue this important work.

Parliamentary Updates

A significant victory has been achieved in the House of Lords this month for Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Irish Traveller communities. Following sustained pressure from Baroness Whitaker the Government tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill (CPB). The amendment will see the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Court’s (PCSCA) Act 12-month ban change back to the original 3 months once the Bill finishes its passage through Parliament.

The PCSCA originally gave police a range of extra powers to target camps, including the power to ban Romani (Gypsy) and Irish Travellers who “

intend to reside” from an area for up to 12 months.

The government’s amendment will now water down one of the most draconian forms of anti-Traveller legislation in decades, described as a major win for Romani (Gypsy) and Irish Traveller communities. The 12-month ban introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 gave police disproportionate powers that excluded families from entire areas for long periods of time – simply for the crime of having nowhere else to go.

Education Policy Team Update

On 25th March a new report co authored by the Runnymede Trust, Traveller Movement and Connecting Roma, Excluded: Misrecognition, control and the Roma experience in Bradford schools, examines the communities behind the disproportionate exclusion of Roma pupils and the structural racism underpinning it.

Roma pupils face deeply disproportionate exclusions, informal segregation, and cultural misunderstanding in schools.

‘Zero-tolerance’ behaviour policies and insufficient pastoral support worsen disengagement. Families struggle to advocate for their children, while inclusion often depends on a few committed staff members. Market-driven school pressures prioritise performance over inclusion, leaving vulnerable pupils ‘managed’ rather than supported, reflecting a national trend of using exclusions to protect results.

National data reveals severe disparities:

Gypsy/Roma pupils have the highest suspension and exclusion rates of any ethnic group in England - 3.5 times the national average.

Suspensions for Gypsy/Roma pupils rose sharply in the post-pandemic period, by 84% between 2018/19 and 2023/24.

In 2023/24 alone, suspensions increased 21% and permanent exclusions 16% from the previous year.

The national secondary suspension rate for Gypsy/Roma pupils was 110.5 per 100 pupils, meaning more than one suspension per pupil on average.

Gypsy/Roma pupils have the lowest attainment at every key stage. In 2023/24, only 8.4% achieved grade 5+ in English and Maths GCSE (versus 45.9% nationally). At Key Stage 2, 18% met expected standards in reading, writing and maths combined (versus 61% nationally).

Though contexts differ, Roma pupils’ experiences mirror patterns affecting other racialised groups, particularly Black and Irish Traveller pupils, pointing to systemic educational failings and school exclusions as a form of structural racism. For many Roma families, school feels like a site of control rather than empowerment, where difference is punished.

The report focuses on Bradford, where participants felt conditions had worsened significantly over the past decade. In 2023/24, Bradford had the fifth-largest Gypsy/Roma pupil population in England (889 pupils), yet far higher exclusion rates than comparable areas. While Kent recorded 22.3 suspensions per 100 pupils and Birmingham 13.9, Bradford’s rate was 145.1 per 100. At secondary level, the rate was 304.1 per 100 - averaging three suspensions per pupil. Such figures indicate entrenched local disparities rather than isolated incidents.

Gypsy/Roma pupils in Bradford secondary schools face the second highest suspension rate of any local authority in England and Wales. The only group that faces a higher suspension rate is Gypsy/Roma pupils in Doncaster.

The report underscores the need for systemic reform. Culturally competent teaching, relational approaches to behaviour, and co-produced support plans have been shown to mitigate exclusion across racialised groups. By learning from these shared dynamics, policy and practice can better address barriers for Roma and other marginalised pupils.

In Excluded, the organisations make a series of policy recommendations including integrating Roma culture into schools, adopting restorative behaviour approaches, co-producing family support plans, reinvesting in local inclusion hubs, ensuring equitable funding, restoring culturally competent services, and developing vocational pathways. By centering belonging, recognition and practical skills alongside academic attainment, education can become a space where Roma pupils are visible, valued and empowered to thrive.

Criminal Justice Team Update

The Justice Select Committee has launched an inquiry into children and young adults in the secure estate in England and Wales to determine if the current system effectively prevents offending while upholding a “child first” approach. The inquiry will scrutinise the various types of secure settings and the suitability and safety of these environments.

The Committee intends to explore the drivers behind high levels of self-harm, poor mental health and the use of physical restraint. It will also examine whether the current adult prison environment is appropriate for meeting the developmental, welfare and rehabilitative needs of young adults aged 18 to 25.

Children from Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Irish Traveller backgrounds are disproportionately overrepresented in youth custody remaining as the most overrepresented group. Despite making up only 0.01% of the general population, HMIP data shows that around 8% of YOI’s and STC’s (with up to ten percent in some) are made up of Romani (Gypsies) and Irish Travellers.

The Traveller Movement has submitted a response to the call for evidence.

Opportunities to get involved in our work

Advisory board ongoing recruitment – find out more here.

TM are also recruiting for a new Intern for the Partnerships team. Find out more here. This is an ideal opportunity for anyone with an interest in film making, social media and/or digital design. For enquiries on this, please email our Head of Partnerships Oliva on business@travellermovement.org.uk