UK Labour Government To Halt Migrant Housing on Accommodation Barge
Britain's new Labour government will stop housing migrants on the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge next year to address the asylum backlog and reduce costs. The barge has been criticized for prison-like conditions, and a suicide occurred there in December. Labour plans to expedite asylum claims, aiming to save £7.7 billion over the next decade, and has also abandoned the Conservative policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Britain's new Labour government announced on Tuesday that it will stop housing migrants on the controversial Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge starting next year.
The interior ministry disclosed that the lease for the barge, currently moored off England's south coast, will not be renewed when it expires in January.
Designed to accommodate up to 500 asylum seekers, the barge has faced persistent criticism since being introduced by the previous Conservative government in August.
Initially aimed at lowering housing costs, the barge was criticized for its prison-like conditions, and in December, an asylum seeker was found dead in a suspected suicide.
Recently, a protest occurred where 60 to 100 residents conducted a sit-in to demand faster asylum processes.
Despite a backlog reduction to 86,000 from 132,000 claimants last year, over 60 percent of asylum seekers have waited more than six months for decisions, according to Migration Observatory.
Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has committed to expediting claims and expects to save £7.7 billion over the next decade by stopping the use of the barge and abandoning the Conservative policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The interior ministry disclosed that the lease for the barge, currently moored off England's south coast, will not be renewed when it expires in January.
Designed to accommodate up to 500 asylum seekers, the barge has faced persistent criticism since being introduced by the previous Conservative government in August.
Initially aimed at lowering housing costs, the barge was criticized for its prison-like conditions, and in December, an asylum seeker was found dead in a suspected suicide.
Recently, a protest occurred where 60 to 100 residents conducted a sit-in to demand faster asylum processes.
Despite a backlog reduction to 86,000 from 132,000 claimants last year, over 60 percent of asylum seekers have waited more than six months for decisions, according to Migration Observatory.
Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has committed to expediting claims and expects to save £7.7 billion over the next decade by stopping the use of the barge and abandoning the Conservative policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda.