§ Mr. Conwayasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the locations of land, owned by his Department, occupied by gipsies and the number of acres per site.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyI shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Conwayasked the Secretary of State for Transport why it is his policy not to clear land owned by his Department of gipsies unless an authorised site is established in the area to which they can be moved.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyWe follow a general policy of toleration where eviction would merely transfer the problem elsewhere in the absence of an authorised site. For non-highway land, we do evict if we require the use of the land. For trunk roads, we remove encampments where they are likely to endanger road users or themselves. Where such encampments are isolated and are not a nuisance, we tolerate them until other arrangements are made. If there are complaints of nuisance, we discuss alternatives with the local authority.