* The Government should develop policies which make it easier for 'New Age' travellers to gain access to paid work and benefits such as Working Families Tax Credit while maintaining their itinerant, community-centred lifestyle, say researchers at the University of Bath. Their report, Making a living: social security, social exclusion and new travellers, published earlier this week, found that only one traveller out of 39 interviewed in the south-west of England had been able to hold down a temporary job and receive the tax credit.
* The Government should develop policies which make it easier for 'New Age' travellers to gain access to paid work and benefits such as Working Families Tax Credit while maintaining their itinerant, community-centred lifestyle, say researchers at the University of Bath.
Their report, Making a living: social security, social exclusion and new travellers, published earlier this week, found that only one traveller out of 39 interviewed in the south-west of England had been able to hold down a temporary job and receive the tax credit.
Co-author Dr Lynn Webster called on the Government to develop policies giving travellers access to paid work while maintaining their mobile lifestyle, and for local authorities to have a duty to provide sites for them. She said, 'Without secure sites travellers are not only at a serious disadvantage in terms of finding and keeping employment, but also in terms of education for their children, healthcare and other welfare services.'
