Open consultation

Traveller caravan count statistics

Published 12 November 2025

Applies to England

The Traveller caravan count (TCC) statistical series is compiled from information submitted by local authorities in England.

Currently local authorities conduct the count of caravans on traveller sites twice a year, in January and July.

We are consulting on proposals to:

• reduce the frequency of data collection to a single annual snapshot
• stop collecting data at site level for all caravan site types
• stop the collection and publication of specific data for socially rented sites
• stop the collection of data on Travelling Showpeople caravans
• move the question on new affordable residential pitches to another data collection

Body responsible for the consultation

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)

Duration

This consultation will last from 12 November to 24 December 2025. 

How to respond

Respond to the consultation by completing the online survey.

If you have any questions about completing the survey, email TravellerCaravanCountForm@communities.gov.uk.

Background

The Traveller Caravan Count statistical series is compiled from information submitted by local authorities in England.

Currently local authorities conduct the count of caravans on traveller sites twice a year, in January and July, providing a snapshot of the number of caravans on the day of the count.

Information is collected about caravans on:

• authorised socially rented sites
• authorised privately funded sites
• unauthorised developments (sites on land owned by travellers for which planning permission has not been granted)
• unauthorised encampments (sites on land not owned by travellers and which do not have planning permission)

The TCC covers data on the number of caravans and traveller sites in England. It does not cover the number of occupants residing in these caravans or caravan sites, or the potential drivers for any observed change.

Although the whole data collection is submitted on a site by site basis (or small area basis for certain site types), the statistical release only publishes detailed site information for socially rented sites as these should be in the public domain already (published on local authority websites).

We do not publish, nor make available via Freedom of Information requests, data on sites other than socially rented, due to risks of disclosure for the travelling community.

We will outline where any of the above tables and charts will be affected by the proposed changes and we have provided a summary of this in the Annex.

Proposal A: To reduce the frequency of data collection to a single annual snapshot

Data for the Traveller Caravan Count is currently collected twice a year in January and July.

The timing of the counts are intended to take into account winter residence and summer travelling trends. In mid-winter we are most likely to capture gypsy travellers and travelling show people at their fixed residence, whilst the summer count is intended to coincide with peak travelling times for gypsies and travellers.

In the summer, gypsies and travellers often move for work but also to attend weddings, travellers fairs, to visit family or for pilgrimages, and this usually means that we see an increase in unauthorised encampments in the summer months (this may also include travellers coming over from Ireland). Such travellers often have a permanent authorised pitch and mobile home/static caravan but use tourer caravans during the summer. 

However, given government policy focuses on longer-term trends rather than seasonal differences or summer/winter demands, MHCLG are proposing to reduce the frequency of the TCC to just once a year.

We would like to obtain your views on discontinuing one of the counts (either Winter/January or Summer/July), and in particular, whether there is a preference for retaining either the winter count or the summer count.

The count is resource intensive; typically, authorities will allocate 2 officers for safety, and in geographically large authorities the travel time between sites may be significant and require correspondingly large resources to map all sites. Moving to an annual collection will reduce the reporting burden for local authorities by removing the requirement to collect data twice a year and also reduce the analytical resources required to produce 2 statistical reports a year. We believe we can adequately monitor long-term trends with just one count per year.  

Overall caravan numbers are presented in the statistical release for both January and July. In general, there is not a large difference between the total number of caravans in England between January and July (see Figure 1).

For some site classification types there can be a more noticeable difference between January and July, in particular caravan numbers on unauthorised sites. However, caravans on unauthorised sites represent a relatively small proportion of caravans, and over the last decade the seasonality aspect appears to be less pronounced for all site types, although data quality factors such as non-response may mask seasonality.

Figure 1: Total Traveller caravan numbers (January and July counts) 2010 to 2025

Figure 1^{[footnote 1]} shows the number of Traveller Caravans by site type between January 2010 and January 2025 (note that due to Covid19 restrictions, the TCC was suspended in July 2020 and January 2021). The figure shows that unauthorised sites in particular appeared subject to seasonality earlier on in the time series, but the fluctuations by season appear to be less pronounced for all site types over the last decade or so.

Moving to an annual collection would mean all tables, charts and figures would only have one annual update. Note that publication Figure 4 and accompanying tables 3 and 5 are already only published once a year.

Consultation questions

Question 1

Do you agree with the proposal to move the traveller caravan count from a bi-annual to annual collection and statistical release?

Question 2

Do you have a preference for retaining the summer or winter count?

Proposal B: To stop collecting data at site level for all caravan site types

Local authorities (LA) are currently asked to report the caravan numbers either at site level for socially rented sites, local authority level for unauthorised encampments, or for privately funded and unauthorised developments, the option to report numbers as a separate record for each 1km by 1km OS grid square.

The mixture of local authority level (LA-level) and site-level data for privately funded sites and unauthorised sites makes it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions using this data. MHCLG are also unable to publish privately funded and unauthorised development data at site level on the basis that disclosure of the information would be likely to endanger the safety of individuals.

Discontinuing the reporting of data at site level would reduce a large reporting burden on local authorities, although the burden with regard to collecting the data would be expected to remain the same. This change would also reduce the amount of processing and validation of the data needed to be conducted by the statistics team and potentially could lead to a faster turnaround between collection closedown and publication.

Collecting data at local authority level could also potentially increase the quality of the data collected by making it easier for data providers to review the data they submit and reduce the likelihood of inaccurate data due to incomplete or missing site level submissions.

We would like your views on 2 potential areas:

1. Moving to a LA-level data collection for all site types (thereby requiring just a single return for each authority with counts by site type). This proposal would significantly reduce the burden of entering and reviewing the data submitted on Delta for local authorities with large numbers of sites. Note that this would also necessitate stopping collecting site-specific data items, currently many of these are unpublished and likely to be dropped from the form anyway.

2. Moving to an LA-level data collection but retaining an element whereby we still collect site data for socially rented sites (with a mechanism for doing this to be decided, but most likely collected in the same single form given the relatively small number of socially rented sites).

Moving to an LA-level data collection would not affect any published tables, charts or maps other than Accompanying Table 2, which would no longer be published if option 1 was adopted. If option 2 was adopted the table would still be published.

Previously published versions of Table 2 would remain available on GOV.UK, and information on socially rented sites is also generally available online either with respect to waiting lists or referred to as part of Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments.

Consultation questions

Question 3

Do you support the proposal for MHCLG to stop collecting and publishing site-level data for socially rented sites?

Proposal C: Discontinue the collection and publication of specific data items for socially rented sites

Subject to proposal B, if MHCLG continues to collect site-level data for socially rented sites (option 2 above) as part of the Traveller Caravan Count, we propose stopping collection of some data items currently published in Live Table 2 that are no longer used internally.

Stopping collection of these items would simplify the form, making submission quicker and simpler for data providers as well as the team processing and publishing the statistics.

The data items we are proposing to stop collecting are as follows:

• Year site opened: this published data is no longer required by MHCLG
• Year site refurbished: this published data is no longer required by MHCLG

Both items will remain accessible in previously published statistical releases:

• Item (1): Year site opened will not change for existing sites. For newly opened sites, information can be obtained from the relevant local authorities
• Item (2): Year site refurbished rarely changes, but up-to-date details should also be available from local authorities

We would like to understand how much this information is currently being used.

Consultation questions

Question 4

Do you support the proposal for MHCLG to discontinue collection and publication of data on the year socially rented sites opened and were refurbished?

Proposal D: Discontinue collection of data on Travelling Showpeople caravans

Data on Travelling Showpeople (TSP) caravans is currently collected once a year as part of the Winter count and has been collected since January 2011.

TSP are members of a group organised for the purposes of holding fairs, circuses or shows (whether or not travelling together as such), including such persons who have ceased to travel temporarily. Travelling Showpeople are considered a distinct group separate from Gypsies and Travellers and have more complex accommodation needs including the requirement for secure spaces to store and maintain equipment (mixed-use yards).

Given the relatively small numbers of TSP caravans recorded (3,128 in England in January 2025), and the lower interest in this information within MHCLG, we are proposing discontinuing collecting data on TSP caravans.

In the January count statistical release this would mean Table 3 and Figure 4 would no longer be updated as well as any accompanying text. Also, Table 2 of the accompanying tables would no longer include TSP sites. Historic TSP caravan count data would still be available in previously submitted January count statistical releases.

Consultation questions

Question 5

Do you support the proposal for MHCLG to discontinue collecting and publishing Travelling Showpeople data once a year?

Proposal E: Move the question on new affordable residential pitches to another data collection

Data on New Affordable Residential Pitches is collected once a year as part of the July TCC. This data is aggregated and published at the Local Authority level only.

The number of new pitches has been small in recent years, with fewer than 40 new affordable residential pitches recorded across all Local Authorities since 2021.

We are recommending to transfer the collection of this data into another LA-level data collection, such as the Local Authority Housing Statistics (LAHS) form. This means that Table 5 would no longer be updated, although the statistics would be published in another statistical publication.

Consultation questions

Question 6

Do you support the proposal that the questions on New Affordable Residential pitches be moved to another data collection (such as LAHS) and published as part of a different statistical release?

Conclusion

We believe these proposals significantly reduce the burden of collection on local authorities and offer the opportunity for streamlining the future development of the TCC, for example, by allowing the possibility of collecting traveller caravan statistics applicable to the local authority as a whole.

Collecting data at local authority level would allow the statistics team to manage and monitor submitted returns and respond to data provider queries more efficiently.

We also believe that the change in the way we collect this information has the potential to improve the quality of the data as it would allow for more validations at the point of data entry and reduce the likelihood of incomplete responses.

Annex: summary of impact on published tables and figures

The statistical release currently presents detailed results in the following tables, figures and map with accompanying text related to these.

These tables outline how the different proposals will affect each of these.

Publications

Table or Figure number	Proposal A	Proposal B	Proposal C	Proposal D	Proposal E
Table 1: Number of Traveller caravans by site type	Published once a year	No change	No change	No change	No change
Table 2: Number of Traveller caravans comparing previous year and current year by site type	Published once a year	No change	No change	No change	No change
Figure 1: Number of Traveller caravans in England by site type over last 10 counts	Published once a year	No change	No change	No change	No change
Figure 2: Proportion of Traveller caravans in England by site type	Published once a year	No change	No change	No change	No change
Map 1: Traveller caravans on authorised sites	Published once a year	No change	No change	No change	No change
Figure 3: Number of Traveller caravans in England from 1979 to 2025	Published once a year	No change	No change	No change	No change
Figure 4: Number of Travelling Showpeople caravans on authorised and unauthorised sites over last 6 counts	No change	No change	No change	Will be dropped	No change

Accompanying tables

Table or Figure number	Proposal A	Proposal B	Proposal C	Proposal D	Proposal E
Table 1: Count of traveller caravans on authorised and unauthorised sites for the last 6 counts, nationally and by local authority	Published once a year	No change	No change	No change	No change
Table 2: Location and size of traveller sites operated by local authorities and private registered providers	Published once a year	1) Will be dropped 2) No change	Year opened and year re-furbished will no longer be published but would be available in past releases	Any reported socially rented Travelling Showpeople sites would no longer be included	No change
Table 3: Number of Travelling Showpeople caravans on authorised and unauthorised sites for the last 6 counts nationally and by local authority area	No change	No change	No change	Table and statistics would no longer be published	No change
Table 4: National totals for the main categories of authorised and unauthorised sites for all counts since January 1979	Published once a year	No change	No change	No change	No change
Table 5: Count of Traveller caravans: new affordable residential pitches constructed since previous July	No change	No change	No change	No change	Published elsewhere

About this consultation

This consultation document and consultation process have been planned to adhere to the Consultation Principles issued by the Cabinet Office.  

Representative groups are asked to give a summary of the people and organisations they represent, and where relevant who else they have consulted in reaching their conclusions when they respond. 

Information provided in response to this consultation may be published or disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes (these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and UK data protection legislation.  In certain circumstances this may therefore include personal data when required by law. 

If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, as a public authority, the Department is bound by the information access regimes and may therefore be obliged to disclose all or some of the information you provide. In view of this it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the Department. 

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will at all times process your personal data in accordance with UK data protection legislation and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties. A full privacy notice is included below. 

Individual responses will not be acknowledged unless specifically requested. 

Your opinions are valuable to us. Thank you for taking the time to read this document and respond. 

Are you satisfied that this consultation has followed the Consultation Principles?  If not or you have any other observations about how we can improve the process please contact us via the complaints procedure.

Personal data

The following is to explain your rights and give you the information you are  entitled to under UK data protection legislation.

Note that this section only refers to personal data (your name, contact details and any other information that relates to you or another identified or identifiable individual personally) not the content otherwise of your response to the consultation.

1. The identity of the data controller and contact details of our Data Protection Officer    

MHCLG is the data controller. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@communities.gov.uk or by writing to the following address:

Data Protection Officer,
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government,
Fry Building,
2 Marsham Street,
London,
SW1P 4DF

2. Why we are collecting your personal data  

Your personal data is being collected as an essential part of the consultation process, so that we can contact you regarding your response and for statistical purposes. We may also use it to contact you about related matters.

We will collect your IP address if you complete a consultation online. We may use this to ensure that each person only completes a survey once. We will not use this data for any other purpose.

Sensitive types of personal data

Please do not share special category personal data or criminal offence data if we have not asked for this unless absolutely necessary for the purposes of your consultation response. By ‘special category personal data’, we mean information about a living individual’s:

• race
• ethnic origin
• political opinions
• religious or philosophical beliefs
• trade union membership
• genetics
• biometrics 
• health (including disability-related information)
• sex life
• sexual orientation

By ‘criminal offence data’, we mean information relating to a living individual’s criminal convictions or offences or related security measures.

3. Our legal basis for processing your personal data

The collection of your personal data is lawful under article 6(1)(e) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation as it is necessary for the performance by MHCLG of a task in the public interest/in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller.  Section 8(d) of the Data Protection Act 2018 states that this will include processing of personal data that is necessary for the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown or a government department i.e. in this case a consultation.

Where necessary for the purposes of this consultation, our lawful basis for the processing of any special category personal data or ‘criminal offence’ data (terms explained under ‘Sensitive Types of Data’) which you submit in response to this consultation is as follows. The relevant lawful basis for the processing of special category personal data is Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR (‘substantial public interest’), and Schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (‘statutory etc and government purposes’). The relevant lawful basis in relation to personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences data is likewise provided by Schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

4. With whom we will be sharing your personal data

MHCLG may appoint a ‘data processor’, acting on behalf of the Department and under our instruction, to help analyse the responses to this consultation.  Where we do we will ensure that the processing of your personal data remains in strict accordance with the requirements of the data protection legislation.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to analyse the responses to consultations more efficiently. These tools assist in identifying and mapping themes in consultation responses, but do not make decisions and all outputs are reviewed by staff for accuracy and reliability. Data used in AI tools is not used for training the AI models.

5. For how long we will keep your personal data, or criteria used to determine the retention period

Your personal data will be held for 2 years from the closure of the consultation, unless we identify that its continued retention is unnecessary before that point.

6. Your rights, e.g. access, rectification, restriction, objection

The data we are collecting is your personal data, and you have considerable say over what happens to it. You have the right:

a. to see what data we have about you

b. to ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on record

c. to ask to have your data corrected if it is incorrect or incomplete

d. to object to our use of your personal data in certain circumstances

e. to lodge a complaint with the independent Information Commissioner (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law.  You can contact the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/, or telephone 0303 123 1113.

Please contact us at the following address if you wish to exercise the rights listed above, except the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO. Email dataprotection@communities.gov.uk or write to:

Knowledge and Information Access Team,
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government,
Fry Building,
2 Marsham Street,
London,
SW1P 4DF

7. Your personal data will not be sent overseas

8. Your personal data will not be used for any automated decision making

9. Your personal data will be stored in a secure government IT system

We use a third-party system, Citizen Space, to collect consultation responses. In the first instance your personal data will be stored on their secure UK-based server. Your personal data will be transferred to our secure government IT system as soon as possible, and it will be stored there for 2 years before it is deleted.

1. Due to Covid 19 restrictions, the TCC was suspended in July 2020 and January 2021. ↩