Revealed: Asylum centre that can’t approve asylum claims
The Home Office has blocked migrants on the Bibby Stockholm barge from having their asylum claims granted while on board, i can reveal.
In a letter to Dorset Council, the local authority for the barge, the Home Office said that it will “not be serving any casework decisions” to asylum seekers while they are living on the barge.
The policy also applies to those being housed at former RAF bases Wethersfield, which can hold up to 1,700 people, and will eventually for Scampton, which has a maximum capacity of 2,000 but is not currently in use.
Under the new approach, asylum seekers can only be given decisions on their claims once they have been moved from the barge to alternative accommodation across different parts of the country, according to the letter, seen by i.
The Bibby Stockholm was established in a bid to cut down the use of hotels and high costs of asylum accommodation. But the revelation raises questions over whether the Home Office will have to move asylum seekers back into hotels in order to hand them their decision.
Aid workers have claimed the policy unfairly penalises those placed on the Bibby Stockholm, Wethersfield and Scampton by adding an additional stage to their asylum claim process and risking delays if new accommodation can’t be found quickly.
A letter from the Home Office suggests that Dorset Council had raised concerns about having to find accommodation for those living on the Bibby Stockholm whose claims were granted. The barge can hold up to 500 people and the maximum amount of time an individual can stay onboard is nine months.
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In a letter dated July 2023 to Dorset Council, the head of asylum support wrote: “A number of you raised concerns about a lack of clarity with regards the issue of Serving Decisions to asylum seekers while they are being accommodated in Wethersfield, Portland or Scampton.
“I am happy to confirm that we will not be serving any casework decisions in these sites. This means that service users will be re-located to dispersed accommodation before an asylum decision is served.”
Once a claim is granted, the individual is given refugee status and is no longer eligible for Home Office housing and must find alternative places to live. They must find housing privately or, if needed, present as homeless to the local council and join the waiting list for social housing.
Some refugees have had to sleep on the streets after their claims were approved, having struggled to find accommodation due to widespread housing shortages and homelessness wait lists.
Three quarters of asylum claims made in the UK are approved after investigation by Home Office decision makers, according to the latest figures. As asylum seekers are not able to work, and many are fleeing conflict zones, they are frequently reliant on homelessness support once their claim is approved.
Charlotte Khan, Head of Advocacy and Public Affairs at Care4Calais, said: “There are people on the Bibby Stockholm who claimed asylum years ago and are still waiting for a decision.
“This is no way to run an asylum system, and it is certainly no way to treat human beings who have fled some of the worst things imaginable, such as torture and persecution. This policy will only cause more despair, all the while adding to what is already a record asylum backlog.”
The total number of asylum cases awaiting an initial decision currently stands at 109,442, down from a peak of 139,552 at the end of February.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to clear a backlog of ‘legacy’ asylum decisions – any outstanding claims made before 28 June 2022 – by the end of 2023, representing 52 per cent of the total backlog of people awaiting a decision at June 2023.
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But the Government looks set to miss the target, with sources revealing the figure was at 11,000 in early December.
Mr Sunak has also made stopping small boats from crossing the Channel central to his pre-election pledges, insisting his Government will push through its Rwanda deal despite the UK Supreme Court ruling the policy was unlawful.
So far this year, more than 29,000 people have crossed the Channel in a small boat – a reduction of around a third on 2022’s record-high figures.
Ninety per cent of those who arrive by small boat make an asylum claim, meaning they say they are fleeing persecution and claiming their right to receive protection elsewhere.
To make an asylum claim in the UK, the individual must be on British soil, but there is no visa for those wanting to come to the UK to seek asylum. Not all asylum seekers in the UK have come via small boat; these account for 37 per cent of asylum claims.
Three-quarters of asylum claims made in the UK over the last twelve months were accepted at initial decision after assessment by the Home Office.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay and the latest published figures show we have reduced the initial legacy backlog by more than 80%.
“Individuals will have their asylum claims considered while onboard the Bibby Stockholm. Once a decision is ready, individuals will be moved to new accommodation where they will receive their decision.”