Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that asylum seekers housed on a waterborne barge are able to access necessary help in any emergency, including a medical emergency or fire.

In the Netherlands and Belgium, the authorities have delivered accommodation for asylum seekers on vessels in a safe and secure manner. The Scottish Government have successfully done so for Ukrainian refugees.

The welfare of those in our care is of the utmost priority. The Bibby Stockholm successfully completed all fire and safety checks ahead the first individuals boarding. The vessel completed a statutory inspection and refurbishment before undergoing final preparations to accommodate asylum seekers.

We have been in liaison with Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service to ensure that the safety of the vessel and its occupants are being appropriately managed in line with relevant legislation. Tactical plans, including arrangements for evacuation of residents to assembly areas away from the quayside and outside the gated area, have been developed.

The fire safety standards on the Bibby Stockholm are the same as any other berthed vessel and meets the industry standard.

In the case of the Bibby Stockholm, there is a log of who is on and off the vessel. During an emergency, our supplier would know who was/was not aboard and would contact any affected individuals. Our supplier would stay in constant touch with local law enforcement. In the event of a prolonged incident, and if there was a requirement to provide emergency accommodation, the supplier would find a room and direct the person to the accommodation, arranging local taxi transport if required.

Facilities onboard the vessel will be designed to provide for the essential needs of those accommodated in order to minimise the impact on local communities and local services. This includes the provision of primary healthcare, catering facilities and 24/7 security. The vessel’s 24/7 security team have established procedures for working with local police and emergency services.

The medical facility on the barge will be staffed 5 days a week to provide an onsite primary healthcare service with which the asylum seekers will register; this means individuals will not need to register with a local GP practice. The medical team has previous experience of working with asylum seekers.

This team will provide care to the asylum seekers either on the vessel itself between the hours of 9am-5pm, or remotely (including outside of these hours).

Medical provision will include:

• a qualified senior health professional, such as an advanced nurse practitioner or a paramedic on site 5 days per week - 9am-5pm
• a GP onsite (one day per week) 9am-5pm
• remote access to GP consultations when onsite care is unavailable or needs additional support
• access to translation services is in place and this has been shared with local services
• any prescribed medicines will be transported to the vessel for the asylum seekers

Home Office is providing funding to the NHS to support on-site primary health service, to help reduce the impact on NHS services.