The Government works on so many of its different areas of responsibility in a manner that clearly fails to respond to the elected and appointed members of our Parliament, let alone the wider community that one wonders if it is time to scrap the whole system and come up with an entirely new way of running the country? On top of the problems such as Brexit and the delivery of Universal Credit there are many other matters that are just as concerning. I recall a few years ago researching into the estimated cost of written questions and answers that MPs and Peers ask the Government and that the sum was £146. This has no doubt risen since and in the context of an estimated £2bn a year budget, it is a miniscule amount. However when time after time after time the questions that are asked are treated with a total lack of respect, the need to hold the Government to account for the accumulative amount surely becomes necessary, let alone the fact that they fail to answer the questions. A few months ago I wrote a number of blogs about the failure by the Government to give access to my MP Caroline Lucas to Yarls Wood detention centre. It took nearly 18 months from her first request for them to do so and in that time she kept on asking to be allowed and they kept on telling her they were considering her request as if any credible organisation can argue that an 18 month delay over something they have clear resources for is achieved. The truth is if a member of the Royal Family becomes pregnant and announces their good news, the Prime Minister will stand up in the House of Commons on the same day and congratulate them, whereas when an MP or a Peer asks a question if it is about immigrants or Gypsies, Roma and Traveller Communities, the speed of response changes rather dramatically.

The reference to Gypsies, Roma and Traveller Communities or GRT as they are referred to by Government agencies relates to a question asked by a lady called Janet Whitaker who is a Labour Peer in the House of Lords, having worked in the Civil Service from 1974 until 1999 when she was appointed by Tony Blair to the Lords. Her question was short and to the point and one would assume would lead to a clear answer. It was responded to on 2^nd November:

“To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 1 February what conclusions the Race and Ethnicity Board has reached on how best to engage the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.”

The previous question was asked on 18^th January:

“To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Keen of Elie on 19 December 2017, who are the members of the Race and Ethnicity Board of Senior Officials; and how they plan for the Board to take account of discrimination against gypsy, traveller and Roma people.”

So the comments by the Government by Lord Keen of Elie include the following elements:

19^th December 2017: “In addition, the Government has adopted the principle of “explain or change” to identify and objectively assess disparities, and then decide whether and how changes need to be applied. We feel this principle is particularly valuable in relation to smaller groups in the criminal justice system, such as Gypsies, Roma and Travellers, and BAME women.”

1^st February: “The scope of the Board is the same as the Lammy Review, therefore due consideration will be given to the issues experienced by the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma community. The Board has already met and is considering how best to engage the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community.”

2^nd November: “Following the publication of the Lammy Review last year, we are making efforts to explore and address specific disparities among the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities in the justice system, overseen by the Race and Ethnicity Board. Our ability to design and assess effective policies will be strengthened by engagement with representatives of GRT communities with direct experience of the justice system. To this end, we are establishing a dedicated stakeholder forum to inform, review and partner with on emerging work.”

Now it is only a month until the first anniversary of the first statement and yet it appears that our £2bn a year Parliament has not done anything except waste the funds of answering the questions. This is pathetic but who will hold them to account? Of course in that time there have been many speeches made in the House of Commons by MPs who appear to be willing to denigrate the GRT community but that is yet another challenge we face in our Parliament!