Covid Inquiry reveals failure to count Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities – say Traveller Movement

The Traveller Movement has welcomed the publication of Module 4 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, which provides important and overdue scrutiny of the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable and marginalised communities, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people.

As a Core Participant in the Inquiry, the Traveller Movement submitted evidence highlighting how long-standing failures in ethnic data collection contributed to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities being overlooked in the Covid-19 response, with serious consequences for access to healthcare, vaccination, and wider public health protection.

The Traveller Movement says that the Inquiry confirms that these issues were not isolated but structural, with gaps in data and system design preventing public bodies from properly identifying and responding to inequality. This reinforces longstanding concerns that systemic invisibility within health datasets continues to drive unequal outcomes.

“We welcome the publication of this report and the serious attention it gives to the experiences of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities during the pandemic,” said Yvonne MacNamara Traveller Movement CEO.

“It confirms what we have long said: when communities are not properly counted or built into system design, they are effectively made invisible in policy and practice,” she added.

The Traveller Movement particularly welcomes the emphasis on Recommendation 2 and Recommendation 3, which together highlight the need for stronger system accountability, improved data collection, and more equitable access to healthcare services.

A central and long overdue step in delivering these recommendations must be the inclusion of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller ethnic categories within the NHS Data Dictionary, say the Traveller Movement, ensuring these communities are properly counted and visible within national health systems.

Evidence from NHS Scotland and Public Health Scotland further demonstrates why this matters. Where Gypsy/Traveller ethnicity has been recorded, analysis has identified elevated risks of severe COVID-19 outcomes, showing clearly that inequalities can only be addressed when they are visible. In contrast, the continued absence of robust data in England means these inequalities remain partially hidden and insufficiently addressed.

Paragraph 6.148 of the Inquiry report highlights how exclusion, mistrust, and systemic invisibility contributed to poorer engagement and outcomes during the pandemic, reinforcing the urgency of reform across both data systems and service design.

The Traveller Movement stresses that addressing these issues will require sustained commitment across government and the NHS. The organisation stands ready to work with the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, and all relevant partners regardless of administration to ensure these recommendations are implemented effectively and that long-standing inequalities are finally addressed.

“Recommendation 2 and Recommendation 3 are particularly important because they show this is not just a data issue, but a wider system failure,” says Yvonne MacNamara, “Without accountability and proper data collection working together, inequalities will continue to be missed,” she added.

“The consequences of that invisibility were real. People were left behind in vaccination programmes and health responses because the system simply did not record or recognise them.

Scotland shows us that better data is possible, and that when Gypsy and Traveller communities are included, inequalities can be identified and addressed. The continued absence of this in England is no longer acceptable.

We are clear that this is not about blame it is about responsibility. We are ready to work with government, NHS England, and all relevant partners to ensure the Inquiry’s recommendations are fully implemented.

But that commitment must now be matched with action.”

The Traveller Movement is calling on the UK Government and NHS England to:

• Implement the inclusion of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller categories within the NHS Data Dictionary
• Act on Recommendation 2 and Recommendation 3 to strengthen system accountability and ethnic data collection
• Publish a clear timetable for implementation of Inquiry recommendations
• Work in partnership with community-led organisations to rebuild trust and improve access to healthcare

Traveller Movement press release/TT News

(Image courtesy of Traveller Movement)