{"id":967,"date":"2023-08-01T15:41:10","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T15:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/bibby-stockholm-no-timeframe-for-migrant-barge-arrivals\/"},"modified":"2023-08-01T15:41:10","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T15:41:10","slug":"bibby-stockholm-no-timeframe-for-migrant-barge-arrivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/bibby-stockholm-no-timeframe-for-migrant-barge-arrivals\/","title":{"rendered":"Bibby Stockholm: No timeframe for migrant barge arrivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bibby Stockholm: No timeframe for migrant barge arrivals<\/p>\n

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\"Bibby<\/picture><\/span>PA Media<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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By Nick Eardley<\/div>\n
BBC chief political correspondent<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Transport minister Richard Holden has said he can not put a timeframe on when asylum seekers will be housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Home Office had been planning to send the first 50 migrants to the barge moored at Portland Port on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But final safety checks are still being carried out, with fire service approval pending. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Asked on Sky News when the barge would be available, Mr Holden said: “I can’t put a timeframe on it.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He added: “The checks are going to take as long as they’re going to take. It’s important we get these things right.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that “all accommodation has to go through a series of checks and inspections” when asked about the delay.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He also defended the policy arguing that it was “not fair” for taxpayers to pay “six million quid a day to house illegal migrants in hotels”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The barge could become operational on Wednesday, with a Home Office assessment expected later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The government wants to use barges to house male migrants in an attempt to reduce the bill for hotel rooms. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Senior ministers hope to confirm the use of further barges in the coming months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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They have struggled to find ports prepared to host them so far, with a site next to London City airport and another on the River Mersey in Wirral among those being rejected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The government believes a successful scheme in Dorset will help encourage other areas to sign up. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But any safety issues would make increasing the use of barges less likely. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The initial plan is for 50 men to live on Bibby Stockholm. But that could increase to more than 500 in the coming months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Home Office decided men living on the barge could share rooms, which significantly increased the capacity. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But there has been opposition to the plan – with local councillors and residents staging protests and Conservative MP for South Dorset Richard Drax calling on the government to remove the barge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Related Topics<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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