§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What observations the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child made, at its January 1995 meeting, on the situation of gypsy and traveller children in England and Wales.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege)The concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child record that, "the situation of Gypsy and Traveller children is of concern to the Committee, especially with regard to their access to basic services and the provision of caravan sites".
Gypsies and other travellers are entitled to the same range of health services as the rest of the population. The Department of Health is funding 34 primary health care schemes for homeless people designed to ensure that they have access to the services they require. Doctors and other health professionals visit places where homeless people congregate. Some of the schemes specifically identify travellers as among those they help; two are designed partly or solely to provide services for this group.