Member

Over the last 30 years, I have supported the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community in a variety of ways, including chairing a working group looking into their access to services—or, as it turned out, their inability to access services. I have spoken in favour of planning applications for caravan sites and taken a couple of Roma girls around with me for a day for work experience. I also visited the exhibition that the local secondary school organised for the pupils who lived on the Traveller site within the school’s catchment area. This exhibition detailed their way of life and celebrated their culture, and it was key in helping the pupils from the site to integrate into the school and local community.