§ Mr. WolfsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide comparative figures for the number of gipsy families known to be in England and Wales at present, five years and 10 years ago.
§ Mr. Trippier[holding answer 25 May 1989]: Accurate information on the numbers of gipsy families is not available. The numbers of gipsy caravans in England as recorded by the twice-yearly counts carried out by the Department for the periods in question were:
Number January 1989 11,321 January 1984 9,929 January 1979 8,358 The Welsh Office has its own arrangements for monitoring numbers of gipsies in Wales.