The report on social landlords’ progress towards the Scottish Government’s minimum site standards shows that over half of social landlords did not meet the standards by the deadline of June 2018.

The Regulator found that 14 of the 27 Gypsy/Traveller sites across Scotland failed to meet the standards. The main reasons for the failures were energy efficiency, safety & security and ensuring residents have an occupancy agreement.

Speaking yesterday at a Holyrood event about providing safe homes for Gypsy/Travellers, George Walker, the Regulator’s chair, said: “Gypsy/Travellers have a fundamental right to live in safe and secure homes, in communities where their cultures and traditions are respected. It’s a huge concern to SHR that all sites did not meet the site standards by the deadline of June 2018.”

Commenting on the landlords that said they do not expect to meet the standards until next year, George said: “We have already written to these landlords ahead of publication of our report. We require each of them to develop and give us, by mid-November, a remedial plan setting out how they will achieve the minimum site standards, without further delay.”