By Sachin Ravikumar
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Wednesday it had leased a barge to house 500 migrants on its southern coast as part of efforts to reduce the use of costly hotels as temporary accommodation while asylum claims are being processed.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made cracking down on illegal migration one of his top priorities ahead of an election expected next year and has set out plans to bar the entry of asylum seekers arriving in small boats across the Channel.
The vessel, the Bibby Stockholm, will be berthed in Portland Port in Dorset and will accommodate 500 single adult males, Britain's interior ministry said.
Migrants will be moved aboard "in the coming months" and it will be operational for at least 18 months, the ministry said, adding that it was in discussions with other ports about the use of further vessels.
"We have to use alternative accommodation options, as our European neighbours are doing – including the use of barges and ferries to save the British taxpayer money and to prevent the UK becoming a magnet for asylum shoppers in Europe," Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said.
"All accommodation will meet our legal obligations and we will work closely with the local community to address their concerns, including through financial support."
The barge will provide "basic and functional" accommodation with healthcare provision and catering facilities as well as onboard security, the government said.
Government data shows 201 migrants were detected crossing the Channel on Tuesday. The total number who arrived in 2022 was more than 45,000.
The governnment, which last week also said it would set up basic migrant accommodation at military bases, says hotel accommodation for asylum seekers costs 6 million pounds ($7.5 million) a day. It did not provide a cost for the barge.
The moves have been criticised by human rights groups for not providing adequate housing, while some lawmakers from Sunak's own governing Conservative Party are concerned about the impact on local communities.
"There will be no control over where they go, what they do, in a very sensitive seaside town," Richard Drax, a Dorset lawmaker, told GB News. "We haven't even been consulted by anyone... on the consequences of this influx."
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