Welsh Government failing to ensure councils meet duties regarding gypsy and traveller sites, Ombudsman says

The Welsh Government has failed to ensure that local authorities are carrying out their legal duties with respect to the provision of accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales has said.

The allegation follows the conclusion of an investigation into two complaints concerning 'Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments' (GTAAs), a type of assessment aimed at identifying sites suitable to accommodate gypsies and travellers.

Councils must carry out these assessments and make provisions for sites where the assessment shows an unmet need before submitting the assessments to the Welsh Government for approval.

According to the Ombudsman, the Welsh Government did not monitor approved GTAAs between January 2020 and the time it conducted its investigation into the complaint.

The complaint was made by 'Mr A' and 'Mr B' who alleged the Welsh Government failed to ensure the local authorities in their areas were taking action to meet the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers as required by the Housing (Wales) Act 2014.

Under the 2014 Act, councils must produce GTAAs and submit them to Welsh Government for approval.

If an approved GTAA shows a need for accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers, the local authority must use its powers to meet that need in accordance with the 2014 Act.

The Welsh Government had committed to annual monitoring of local authorities to ensure that they were acting on the findings of their GTAAs.

However, the Ombudsman found that: "Whilst the legal duty to provide accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers, where needed, falls to local authorities, Welsh Government had failed to fulfil its critical leadership role in ensuring this happened."

In the case of Mr A and Mr B, the Welsh Government had failed to engage appropriately with the local authorities where the complainants lived and failed to assess updated GTAAs from both local authorities despite them being submitted more than two years prior, the Ombudsman found.

This hindered the two local authorities in carrying out their duties and caused "frustration and distress to Mr A and Mr B, and potentially other members of the Gypsy and Traveller community in Wales", the report said.

The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, Michelle Morris, said: "Delay and inaction by Welsh Government has led to stagnation and constrained the ability of local authorities to meet the accommodation needs.

"The lack of available accommodation has meant that Mr A has potentially been unable to live with his wider family and provide support to them and Mr B and his family have been homeless for a number of years. This is an injustice to them and a source of great stress and frustration."

She also noted that the Welsh Government initially incorrectly told the complainants that their enquiry did not fall within the scope of its complaint policy and that the time taken to tell Mr A and Mr B this was "excessive".

"The poor handling of their complaint was further evidence of maladministration on the part of Welsh Government and contrary to our Complaints Standards Authority Principles of Effective Complaint Handling", Morris added.

As a result of the investigation, the Ombudsman recommended the Welsh Government ensure that it informs local authorities clearly of the requirement to continue to take steps to meet identified need in approved GTAAs while it assesses updated GTAAs.

It also recommended the Welsh Government determine whether to approve the revised GTAAs submitted by local authorities and set a plan for how it will review the GTAA process and monitoring arrangements.

In addition, the watchdog called on the Welsh Government to remind staff who deal with complaints of the importance of responding in a timely manner and provide them with training.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "We accept all the recommendations of the report from the Public Services Ombudsman. Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people are amongst the most marginalised people in society and face significant inequality.

"We are working with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people themselves, partners and local authorities to meet their needs as a key part of our Anti-racist Wales Action Plan. We are providing capital funding of £3.44m in 2024-25 for local authorities to improve, extend or build new Gypsy and Traveller sites."

Adam Carey