§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in the light of the decision in R v Brighton and Hove Council ex parte Marmont (The Times Law Reports, 15th January), they will introduce a measure to ensure that where a local authority evicts travellers for repossession of land, it is under an obligation to take into account Department of the Environment Circular 18/94 concerning Gypsy Sites Policy and Unauthorised Camping. [HL198]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Baroness Hayman)The judgment inR v Brighton & Hove Council ex parte Marmont makes it clear that the advice in Department of the Environment Circular 18/94 has no application to proceedings under which local authorities seek repossession of their land from trespassers through the civil courts. The judgment does, however, make it clear that local authorities cannot ignore considerations of common humanity when deciding whether to evict unauthorised campers, regardless of which powers they choose to use.
The Government do not, therefore, consider it necessary to introduce any further measures in relation to unauthorised camping.