Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people are being accommodated on the Bibby Stockholm barge at present, and what is the cost per person to accommodate them.
The capacity of the Bibby Stockholm is around 500 people. The number of asylum seekers onboard the vessel at any one time is likely to vary due to a number of factors.
Numbers will increase in a phased approach as part of a carefully structured plan. We are conscious of the need to manage arrivals in a way that local services can support.
Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential. Therefore, the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at: Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2022-2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk).