The UK has, for example, a working group representing several Government Departments, such as the Home Office and Education and Training, on Roma issues. Roma tend to be part of a cycle of deprivation. Their lack of participation in civil society means that they do not have equal opportunities to public services. In the UK Roma trailer sites are mostly located at a distance from public services and public service providers have difficulty in accessing or often have no desire to access such sites. Roma mother and daughter in Eastern Slovakia Representation of Roma in public services and knowledge about Roma is minimal.
Enormous sensitivities exist around the collection of data to help services plan more adequately.
There is a shift to encourage greater participation of clients in the design of services. The risk is Roma issues will remain marginal due to their invisibility. There is an increasing amount of data relating to Roma. However it is still so small in quantity and limited in quality that it is doubtful as a sound base for clear judgements. Data which can be relied upon needs to be collected but actions based upon current data should not be denied.