Labour are axing the Bibby Stockholm barge.

Fair point Notspaghetti. I was on a cruise ship recently in an inside cabin and it was far from ideal. But no worries, they are going to clear the backlog and house these people in all the de luxe unoccupied homes simply waiting for them to be deemed comfortable enough. All the UK families, as Nanna8 suggests, will be issued with government issue back packs and directed towards Portland. However just heard on the News that there are 1.3 million UK citizens on social housing waiting list. Better order more barges. Sadly, a good number of those on waiting lists are actually paying taxes and contributing to the Exchequer. Can anyone spot any joined up thinking?

The barge was never suitable for long term habitation. It was designed for temporary accommodation for half as many people for a couple of weeks at a time whilst people were out working (with good pay and knowing they would be soon going home).

Inside cabins don't even have a window.

www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/uk/6032080/bibby-stockholm-asylum-seekers-shetland/

Urmstongran

My view?
Labour will be clearing the asylum backlog by approving all claims, removing the Rwanda deterrent before proving it worked or didn't, and now closing all temporary accommodation for illegal migrants will be fine. We have cash, housing & infrastructure in abundance.

If anyone was in any doubt where the Labour miracle of growth will come from, it's now clear. They will continue down the road of an open-door policy for migration and counting topline GDP rather than the much more realistic GDP per capita.

Surprised? Absolutely not. It's why I didn't vote Labour. It's all very predictable.

Or us

I read it, OldFrill.

I sort of think you have a point Oreo, because the current location of the barge was never ideal. Most young qualified men and women I know can't wait to get away from towns like Weymouth, Lyme Regis etc because there's nothing there for them. London would make sense because I assume that's where asylum seekers would most like to end up anyway.
However, I think the mooring fees at St. Katherine's Dock are a bit pricey. I saw the royal barge boat there on several occasions!

Reposting this in the hope folk bother to read it before commenting
www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/news/bibby-stockholm-update-from-the-multi-agency-forum-march-2024

If the barge isn’t needed how about using to house the homeless until other accommodation can be sorted out?
For single men only of course, not families and move the boat to London which has the most in need of somewhere to stay, particularly in Winter.

Cadeby
"allowed into town" meaning they are free to come and go. Actually, I believe a private bus service transports them in and out several times a day. A bit pointless if it's just to admire the scenery, but there you go.
I didn't say they were "grateful and enjoying" themselves. I said they will be grateful to have their papers speedily granted.

T.here May well be restrictions put on their movements and what they are allowed to do. They won’t want to push it too far for fear of annoying the powers that be.

Joseann

^Since the Bibby Stockholm arrived a year ago, we have worked hard to support the residents of the barge and also tried to mitigate the impact on local communities^. Seems a bit short-sighted to me.
I live in a similar coastal town to Weymouth, a bit further west.
I bet the asylum seekers feel very grateful that they are being fast tracked and that the end of their stay on the barge is imminent.
Seeing as they are allowed into town anyway, how about their volunteering in the community to cut the hedges, pick up beach litter, wash seagull poop off the pavements, and help on the farms? Or do they justt here to enjoy the facilities provided in the local area? l know I would be delighted to offer a volunteering hand in such a situation.

" allowed into town" What would you prefer?

Nobody is grateful or enjoying facilites. One person ended his life.

Many on this forum object very strongly to the suggestion that potentially unsafe individuals help out and volunteer.

Yes schemes operate locally hand in hand with the Volunteer Centre.

Small scale, as resources are small scale (ie supervisors and so on). I believe however you have to be "in the system" and more recent arrivals are not as processing was stopped in April.

It's been discussed before on GN.

Joseann

^Since the Bibby Stockholm arrived a year ago, we have worked hard to support the residents of the barge and also tried to mitigate the impact on local communities^. Seems a bit short-sighted to me.
I live in a similar coastal town to Weymouth, a bit further west.
I bet the asylum seekers feel very grateful that they are being fast tracked and that the end of their stay on the barge is imminent.
Seeing as they are allowed into town anyway, how about their volunteering in the community to cut the hedges, pick up beach litter, wash seagull poop off the pavements, and help on the farms? Or do they justt here to enjoy the facilities provided in the local area? l know I would be delighted to offer a volunteering hand in such a situation.

Has anybody actually suggested or started organising such a scheme? I agree it would be good, but I don't think the asylum seekers could start it on their own initiative. I can imagine the suspicion if a group of asylum seekers suddenly started wandering round the town with hedge cutters. I expect some people would be scared they wanted to use them as weapons.

J52

On the plus side the £20 million cost will be saved and usefully used elsewhere.
Hopefully the professionals will include doctors and nurses.

Why would qualified medical staff come into the UK via the asylum system? The NHS is crying out for staff so doctors & nurses could apply for vacancies in the UK. They’d be able to bring their families with them, too. My dd is starting on a GP training programme soon and the majority of her new colleagues are from overseas.

Since the Bibby Stockholm arrived a year ago, we have worked hard to support the residents of the barge and also tried to mitigate the impact on local communities. Seems a bit short-sighted to me.
I live in a similar coastal town to Weymouth, a bit further west.
I bet the asylum seekers feel very grateful that they are being fast tracked and that the end of their stay on the barge is imminent.
Seeing as they are allowed into town anyway, how about their volunteering in the community to cut the hedges, pick up beach litter, wash seagull poop off the pavements, and help on the farms? Or do they justt here to enjoy the facilities provided in the local area? l know I would be delighted to offer a volunteering hand in such a situation.

karmalady

The men are aged between 19 and 25, so they won`t have much in the way of `professional` qualifications

They have a clean room, good food and medical facilities etc. They might end up wishing they had stayed on board.

Bit weird? My daughter is 22 and has professional qualifications.

Her friend from DRC also?

Extending the use of the barge, which is moored off Portland, would have cost more than £20 million next year.
The three-storey vessel has capacity for up to 500 men, aged 18-65.

Dame Angela Eagle, the minister for border security and asylum, said she wanted the asylum system to operate "swiftly, firmly and fairly" and ensure the rules were properly enforced.
“The Home Secretary has set out plans to start clearing the asylum backlog and making savings on accommodation which is running up vast bills for the taxpayer," she said.
Ending the use of the Bibby Stockholm forms part of the expected £7.7bn of savings in asylum costs over the next decade.

Some residents on Portland objected to the barge, concerned that the local community had not been consulted and fearing the impact on local services like healthcare.
Campaigners also expressed worries about the conditions the men were living under and called for the barge to be shut down.
Traces of Legionella bacteria were found in the barge's on-board water system, just days after the first migrants boarded in August 2023.
Welfare concerns were also sparked after Albanian migrant Leonard Farruku, 27, was found dead in his cabin. He is thought to have taken his own life.

Dorset Council leader Nick Ireland said the authority had always been opposed to the barge being sited at Portland Port, and that the latest decision was "welcome".
“Since the Bibby Stockholm arrived a year ago, we have worked hard to support the residents of the barge and also tried to mitigate the impact on local communities," he said.
“We will work closely with the Home Office and other partners to ensure the smooth running of arrangements over the final few months.”

BBC

The men are aged between 19 and 25

Karmalady you know this how?

According to a Sky News report, July 2023, the Bibby Stockholm would house single men aged between 18 and 65.

I'd have thought they'd have been usent back. You can't apply outside the UK and there is no visa available.

Here you go

Origin of professionals -see this web ref from Dorset council.

“Many of the barge residents are already highly skilled professionals, and refugees often provide much needed skills (e.g.medical staff).”

www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/news/bibby-stockholm-update-from-the-multi-agency-forum-march-2024

Whitewavemark2

karmalady

so will they have to source 400 accommodations around weymouth?

No they will have cleared the backlog. Many of the Bibby Stockholm people are professionals and hopefully will be able to contribute yo the economy by then.

Evidence please.

The men are aged between 19 and 25, so they won`t have much in the way of `professional` qualifications

They have a clean room, good food and medical facilities etc. They might end up wishing they had stayed on board.

karmalady

Casdon and WW, how did they prove they are professionals, without papers?

They arrived by air claiming asylum with their papers intact, including one assumes necessary professional evidence. They were processed at that point by the HO, but the Tories shelved any decision because they just love performative politics, these asylum seekers were some of the easiest to process snd decision made.

It's nigh on impossible to enter the UK as an asylum seeker though

However, it is not possible to claim asylum from outside the UK, and there is no visa which allows people to enter the UK in order to claim asylum. This means that most people have no choice but to enter the UK without permission. People may come hidden in vehicles, on boats, or by aeroplane using a false passport.

I'm not sure that these men will have professions to go to either. Sounds like Labour don't either with its crackdown on nail bars and car wash places.

Urmstongran

My view?
Labour will be clearing the asylum backlog by approving all claims, removing the Rwanda deterrent before proving it worked or didn't, and now closing all temporary accommodation for illegal migrants will be fine. We have cash, housing & infrastructure in abundance.

If anyone was in any doubt where the Labour miracle of growth will come from, it's now clear. They will continue down the road of an open-door policy for migration and counting topline GDP rather than the much more realistic GDP per capita.

Surprised? Absolutely not. It's why I didn't vote Labour. It's all very predictable.

👏👏

Casdon and WW, how did they prove they are professionals, without papers?

Primrose53

nanna8

I hope they find decent places to live and aren’t just turned out with nowhere to go. What will they do with the ship? It could be a tourist place or backpackers perhaps.

And I would bet that backpackers would be more than happy with the accommodation.

It is rented - it will go back to the owner.

The clue is in the word “contract”

The boat is registered in Barbados, and will be required to leave British territorial waters or pay mooring fees etc which is doubtful as it needs to earn its keep.