Roma migrant communities in the UK, as elsewhere (Pantea, 2012a), are a highly heterogeneous group reflecting the differing regions of Europe as well as intra-group variations in local tradition. Variation also stems from the differing situations that these Roma are faced with in the UK, which have triggered a range of coping strategies, some traditional, some innovative. The Roma migrants often become an issue of local politics, with sections of the local populace opposing their presence, as Nacu (2011) has noted in Paris. Community cohesion is endangered as some actors and agencies promote coercive agendas while others, influenced by discourses of inclusion, may fluctuate between ideals of social justice and empowerment and more subtle forms of control through policies of assimilation or integration. This chapter examines the work of the Roma Support Group (RSG), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), and the Salford Ethnic Minority Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS), part of a local authority, which have developed pioneering work supporting Roma communities, helping them to build advocacy skills and more broadly facilitating skills development and innovation.

As noted in Chapter One, there has been a rise in the number of Roma in the UK since the accession of East European countries to the European Union. Roma who have settled in the UK are primarily A8 and A2 migrants. Research by European Dialogue, conducted by Fremlova and Ureche (2009), found that a desire to find employment, which is often impossible to access in their home countries, has been the strongest motivating factor for migrant Roma (cited by 59% of their sample), while a further 37% reported moving to the UK to seek a better life for their children or to escape discrimination at home. Inadequate ethnic monitoring of Roma in the UK means that no clear evidence exists on the size of the community. Fremlova and Ureche (2009) noted estimates by interviewees that there was a Roma migrant population of 100,000 to 1,000,000 in the UK, most of whom have arrived since the collapse of the communist bloc in Central/Eastern Europe. A more recent study (Brown et al, 2013) estimated a Roma population of approximately 200,000.