Britain is "failing" its traveller communities by not providing them with safe places to live, lawmakers and charities said.
Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers, recognised as distinct ethnic groups under British law, are traditionally nomadic, but campaigners say a lack of spaces for them to camp means many are effectively homeless.
They are among the lowest achieving ethnic groups in schools and also have low life expectancy. About two-thirds report bad health linked to poor living conditions, the National Inclusion Health Board found in 2016.
Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers, recognised as distinct ethnic groups under British law, are traditionally nomadic, but campaigners say a lack of spaces for them to camp means many are effectively homeless.
They are among the lowest achieving ethnic groups in schools and also have low life expectancy. About two-thirds report bad health linked to poor living conditions, the National Inclusion Health Board found in 2016.
"We are failing travellers," Andrew Selous of the Conservatives told parliament during a debate. "Government ministers and the officials responsible for this policy area should be hanging their heads in shame. We should always deal with these issues with humanity, with decency and with respect but we also need to see equality under the law," said Selous.
A shortage of sites is forcing travellers to set up caravans on unauthorised sites and public land, said Sarah Mann, director of Friends, Families and Travellers, a charity that works to end discrimination.
"Many traditional stopping places and green lanes where Gypsy and traveller families have stopped for centuries have systematically been closed off, forcing Gypsy and traveller families to stop in public spaces," Mann told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "Everyone needs a place to live and local authorities must begin to allocate land."
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