“It was never our intention to treat caravan dwellers differently or in a stigmatising manner. Nevertheless, our approach has had that effect. We regret this. We have therefore offered our apologies to the caravan dwellers” advocacy group,” said the Mayor and Aldermen.
The council emphasises that the Bibob policy itself is sound and not unlawful. The Bibob Act enables the government to check whether, for example, a licence, grant or sale of property is being used for criminal activities. The Bibob policy identifies a number of risk categories for which a Bibob investigation is carried out as a matter of course. One of these risk categories is ‘parking and mooring sites’. In implementing the policy, caravan sites were classified as ‘parking and mooring sites’. Consequently, a Bibob investigation was carried out as a matter of course when caravan plots were sold. The independent investigation shows that this routine check should not have been carried out in relation to caravan plots and that it had a discriminatory effect on caravan dwellers.
That is why the council is changing the way it implements the policy. From now on, a Bibob investigation will no longer be carried out as a matter of course when caravan plots are sold. A Bibob investigation may only be initiated if there are specific grounds for doing so. This means that, in this respect, caravan plots will be treated in the same way as other situations in which a Bibob investigation may be required.
The local authority has, with immediate effect, ceased to classify caravan pitches as the ‘mooring and berthing sites’ risk category for the purposes of the Bibob policy. The Bibob policy itself remains in force unchanged.
