The Home Office has begun relocating asylum seekers from the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset, to hotel and council accommodation in the Midlands, as the barge is set to close by Christmas under Labour’s recent overhaul of the asylum system. Approximately 400 people are being transferred to various sites, including a Wolverhampton hotel now designated for single male migrants and council-provided accommodation in Worksop, backed by Bassetlaw Council.
A Home Office source responded by emphasizing that the government inherited record numbers of small boat arrivals and a mounting asylum backlog. “The Government is acting step by step to get the system back on track, increase border security, end hotel use, and re-establish an asylum and immigration system that is properly managed and controlled, so the system is fair.”
With the Bibby Stockholm contract set to end in January and no financial penalty for early closure, the Home Office estimates keeping the barge operational would cost over £20 million next year. Meanwhile, the demand for accommodation has surged, with nearly 30,000 migrants housed across 250 hotels at a daily cost of £4.2 million.
The ongoing relocation underscores the challenges and costs of the UK’s asylum crisis, while Labour works to balance humanitarian needs with financial and logistical realities.
