§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the number of travellers' caravans on (a) authorised and (b) unauthorised sites in Greater London; and how this compares with similar estimates over the past five years.
§ Mr. TraceyThe Department collects information from a voluntary census carried out twice-yearly by London borough councils. The numbers of gypsy caravans recorded in the last five years are as follows:
Caravans Unauthorised sites Authorised sites January 1981 358 528 July 1981 321 450 January 1982 298 480 July 1982 292 365 January 1983 295 488 July 1983 280 514 January 1984 294 585 July 1984 300 440 January 1985* 209 407 July 1985* 277 380 * In January 1985 seven Boroughs did not make returns; in July 1985 four Boroughs did not make returns.