First 50 asylum seekers expected to be sent to Bibby Stockholm barge next week
The Home Office is expecting to send an initial 50 people to the UK’s first floating barge for asylum seekers on Tuesday, despite safety concerns and local opposition.
A Whitehall source confirmed the details of the first arrivals at the Bibby Stockholm barge stationed off the Dorset island of Portland, which has a population of 13,000.
The floating facility will eventually host around 500 men at a time under Government efforts to reduce the use of hotels to house people awaiting the results of asylum claims.
A record backlog and thousands of people making unauthorised crossings of the Channel have strained the system as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak battles to “stop the boats”.
But refugee charities said the use of barges and former military bases to house asylum seekers is damaging to the needs of vulnerable people, and also raised concerns for migrants’ safety.
Conservative MPs representing areas where the facilities are being established have expressed concerns about how their constituencies will be impacted.
A month behind schedule after undergoing repairs, Bibby Stockholm was met by protesters as it arrived in Portland, Port on Tuesday last week.
When Bibby Stockholm was first used for the same purpose by the Netherlands in the 2000s, asylum seekers said that up to four people would be crammed into one room.
A 2008 Amnesty International report found that one person died in the accommodation.
Since then, the Home Office has said it has refurbished the barge and added a multi-faith room, a gym, and outdoor exercise facilities on board.
The Government is hoping to slash the estimated £6m daily cost of housing migrants in hotels with the use of alternative accommodation.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “The Bibby Stockholm has completed a statutory inspection and refurbishment and is now berthing in Portland.
“The welfare of those in our care is of the utmost priority and the barge is now undergoing final preparations to ensure it complies with all appropriate regulations before the arrival of the first asylum seekers in the coming weeks.”
Additional reporting by PA
