The Home Office plans to return asylum seekers to the Bibby Stockholm barge next week following a lengthy evacuation after legionella was found there.
Thirty-nine people were briefly accommodated on the barge between 7 and 11 August but were evacuated after the discovery of legionella, which was confirmed on the day they arrived.
If the return goes ahead on 19 October as planned, the barge will have been empty for 68 days, after being occupied for less than five days.
The Home Office said it was necessary to move asylum seekers to the barge to reduce the costly hotel bill for accommodating them. This sum has reached about £8m a day, according to its annual report.
According to a report in iNews the barge has cost the Home Office almost £300,000 a week while it has been empty.
The notice sent on Monday has the title “notice of relocation” and says: “You are being moved on to the Bibby Stockholm on Thursday 19 October 2023.”
It adds that the barge is not a place of detention but people will need to sign in and out when they come and go, “so we can assure your safety”. It adds that asylum seekers may have to share rooms.
The barge has been beset with problems relating to the legionella bacteria found onboard, problems with the plumbing system identified by Wessex Water and concerns about fire safety.
The 39 people who were moved on to the barge have repeatedly protested about conditions there and have said they do not want to return to the “prison-like” environment.
Writing in the Guardian, two people who were on the barge at the beginning of August said: “The experience takes its toll. We’re all struggling mentally. Some of us are married, and all of us are away from our families and worried about them. We’re constantly stressed, many of us are on medication, some of us have serious health conditions and we feel the situation is getting worse.
“The Home Office has said if you don’t go back to the Bibby Stockholm, your support will stop, and you’ll intentionally make yourself homeless. So we don’t have a choice. It’s like being bait in a trap. We feel as if we are being hunted by the Home Office, when all we want now is a system that treats us fairly, a swift interview, a stable future and a voice.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Home Office has started to send letters to asylum seekers to confirm the re-embarkation of the Bibby Stockholm and notify them that they will be accommodated on board, following the vessel completing all necessary tests.
“The letters confirm the next steps for asylum seekers and reiterate that all asylum accommodation continues to be offered on a no-choice basis. Delivering alternative accommodation sites, such as the vessel, is more affordable for taxpayers and more manageable for communities, due to healthcare and catering facilities on site, 24/7 security and the purpose-built safe accommodation they provide.”
A Dorset resident is bringing legal action against the Home Office over the use of the barge, which is docked in Portland Port.
Carralyn Parkes, who lives on the Isle of Portland, is due to ask the high court for approval to challenge the government department over the barge, arguing that it requires planning permission.
Parkes is the mayor of Portland but intends to bring the challenge in a personal capacity. A hearing will take place on Tuesday.
The Home Office changed its policy on Monday, giving people seeking asylum five working days to challenge being moved on to the barge.
A freedom of information request from the Home Office obtained by the anti-trafficking organisation After Exploitation on Monday said 136 barge notices had been issued so far.
