Travellers: Caravan Sites
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the publication entitled Count of Traveller Caravans, January 2025: England, published on 25 June 2025, what steps she is taking to help tackle the increase of (a) unauthorised traveller development on land they own and (b) unauthorised traveller encampments and trespass on land they do not own.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook
Whilst the number of caravans on unauthorised sites did increase between the 2024 and 2025 counts, local authorities have been encouraged to report excess numbers on authorised sites as unauthorised so the reported increase may reflect improved data quality, rather than a genuine increase in the number of caravans on this site type.
More widely, the number of caravans on unauthorised encampments is a very small proportion of the overall number of caravans reported (1%) and subject to more fluctuation than other site types.
In relation to local planning authority enforcement powers, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 46336 on 30 April 2025.
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