A House of Lords committee has asked the Government for more information on how it plans to address inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) people accessing public services.
The cross-party House of Lords public services committee raised their concerns in a letter to levelling up minister Michael Gove in May last year but said the reply did not satisfactorily answer any of their questions.
The committee was particularly concerned by the suggestion that policies aimed at tackling disparities in life expectancy and barriers to accessing public services for the communities would be in breach of the Equality Act 2010.
Committee chair Baroness Armstrong said: ‘We have highlighted the stark inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities including significantly lower life expectancies and other outcomes.
‘Part of the problem is that they struggle to access basic public services such as education, social care for children, and healthcare.
‘We also look forward to receiving more detailed answers to our questions on action to address the disparities faced by the GRT community. The previous responses were unsatisfactory, to say the least.’
She added: ‘Any implication that action to address inequalities is illegal has a serious impact: the language could easily be applied to any community in the future.
‘We have given the Government the opportunity to correct their position, and we hope they will take it.’
