In July 1998, the former Scottish Executive introduced a series of twice yearly counts of this population (undertaken in January and July) to establish standardised and consistent estimates across Scotland. The purpose of the count is to better understand the characteristics of this population and to assist and inform the development of public policies and services for Gypsies/Travellers, both nationally and locally. The count is based on an estimate of the number of Gypsy/Traveller households living on sites provided by councils or registered social landlords (RSLs), privately owned sites and unauthorised encampments.
