§ Mr. PoundTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals he has to assist councils faced with the cost of cleaning up land from which travellers have been evicted. [82719]
§ Mr. RaynsfordWe have published, jointly with the Home Office, good practice guidance for local authorities and the police on managing unauthorised camping. The good practice recognises that the cost of clearing up after unauthorised encampments can be high, and suggests that costs might be reduced by the provision of refuse collection and disposal services during the encampment.
We want to encourage local authorities to think creatively about how best to manage unauthorised camping. Part of their thinking may involve the provision of temporary, serviced sites as advised in Department of the Environment Circular 18/94 "Gypsy Sites Policy and Unauthorised Camping", and latterly in the good practice guidance.