Swinney faces FMQs as SNP urged to 'put things right' for Gypsy Travellers

John Swinney will face First Minister’s Questions as the SNP have been urged to “put things right” for Gypsy Travellers.

The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is calling for the Scottish Government to make financial compensation payments to Gypsy Travellers for the harm caused by the so-called “Tinker Experiment”.

The social experiment, which lasted from 1940 until 1980, was a programme designed to forcibly settle, assimilate, and eliminate the nomadic lifestyle of Scotland’s Gypsy/Traveller community. It saw children forcibly removed from their families.

The First Minister made an apology for the “trauma” caused by “unfair and unjust policies” last June, but on Thursday, the SHRC has said that further action is needed.

The new spotlight report said Swinney’s apology was a “positive first step on the path to righting the wrongs done by Scotland’s institutions” to Gypsy Travellers, but went on to make a series of recommendations it said must be adopted “with urgency” to address the “continuing harms”.

As part of a call for “transformative reparations”, the report said there must be further apologies from the Scottish Government, and financial compensation to be paid to victims and their families.

It also recommended a “culturally appropriate review” be carried out to ensure the adequacy of accommodation provided at Gypsy Traveller sites.

The report found that both the Scottish Government and local authorities have “failed, and continue to fail, to
uphold an adequate standard of living” in relation to adequate housing for Scotland’s Gypsy Travellers.

FMQs will be broadcast from the Scottish Parliament at midday on Thursday.