Stereotypes of 'New Travellers' as workshy layabouts and dole scroungers are greatly exaggerated, according to a new study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. It finds that paid work is an important part of the way the travellers make a living and sustain their 'alternative' lifestyle on the move.

Researchers from the University of Bath carried out a unique series of in-depth interviews with New Travellers - also known as 'New Age Travellers’ - in four counties of South West England to examine their way of life and employment patterns. They found that:

• Although few of the 39 Travellers interviewed placed a high value on materialistic wealth and possessions, half were working at the time and most had worked at some time in the previous year. Temporary jobs and self-employment generated the most work.
• Mobility was important in allowing Travellers to find crop-picking and other seasonal agricultural employment. However, eviction from unauthorised campsites made regular employment hard to sustain.
• The travellers most likely to find regular work were those whose health was good and who had portable skills and transport as well as bank accounts and mobile phones. Men found it easier to seek employment because women were mainly responsible for domestic work.
• Collective support was important in sustaining the Travellers’ way of life on low incomes. This ranged from shared child care and vehicle maintenance to ‘subs’ for day-to-day expenses and longer-term loans.
• Most of the Travellers interviewed had claimed Income Support at some time; but lone parents were the only long-term claimants. Working Families Tax Credit provided an important additional source of income to paid work for self-employed Travellers, but only one family whose income came from low-paid employment had ever received this benefit.
• Thirteen Travellers reported making claims for benefits which they may not have been entitled to receive - eight infrequently and five on a more regular basis. Most were the result of failing to declare small sums from irregular earnings. Fraud was generally viewed as something to be avoided.
• Opportunistic activities, most of which were legal, were used to supplement income. These included ‘skip runs’ to collect food discarded by supermarkets that had passed its sell-by date. The demise of free festivals had reduced opportunities for raising extra money by selling food, drink and crafts.
• Begging only tended to occur when Travellers were penniless or stranded while moving between sites. A few reported resorting to shoplifting, other theft or prostitution as a last resort. One interviewee regularly committed burglary to sustain a drug habit.

The researchers conclude that better understanding by policy makers and officials of the travelling lifestyle would enable New Travellers to take greater advantage of the Government’s ‘welfare to work’ initiatives, including the employment ‘New Deals’ and the Working Families Tax Credit.

Dr Lyn Webster, co-author of the research, said: “There are currently no specific policies that target and help Travellers to participate in the labour market. The challenge for policy is to enable Travellers to gain greater access to paid work while maintaining their mobile, community-based lifestyle. In addition to a more flexible approach to employment support services and benefits, there needs to be a change in national policy so that local authorities once more have a duty to provide sites for Travellers. Without secure sites they are not only at a serious disadvantage in terms of finding and keeping employment, but also in terms of education for their children, health care and other welfare services.”

Making a living: Social security, social exclusion and New Travellers by Lyn Webster and Jane Millar is published for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation by The Policy Press and available from Marston Book Services, PO Box 269, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4YN (01235 465500), price £10.95 plus £2.50 p&p. 

A summary of findings can be obtained here.

Lyn Webster (author)
Prof. Jane Millar (author) 01225 826141 (office)

(Issued by David Utting, JRF Head of Media Relations, 020-7278 9665 / david.utting@jrf.org.uk)