Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her original timescale was for refitting the Bibby Stockholm barge in Falmouth Docks to accommodate asylum seekers; and whether this timescale has changed since work began.

The Bibby Stockholm will arrive in Portland in early July and asylum seekers are expected to be moved onto the Bibby Stockholm from mid-July onwards.

It will be in place initially for 18 months but kept under review. The Bibby Stockholm is now in Falmouth where it is undergoing a statutory inspection along with any necessary refurbishment and general maintenance ahead of its berthing in Portland in the coming weeks. It will not be used to house asylum seekers whilst in Falmouth.