This petition was submitted during the 2020-2024 Conservative government
Rejected petition Deny holding 500 single-adult males at Portland Port on a barge for 18 months.
The Home Office confirmed that the Bibby Stockholm barge will host more than 500 single-adult males in Portland, Dorset, near Weymouth. This matter has only been discussed in private with the port owners which has exacerbated the issue for the public. We demand the immediate reversal of this plan.
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There has been no account of the effects this could have on the many small businesses and people relying on the summer trade. Tourists, visitors and families flock to Weymouth & Portland in the summer to enjoy the lovely resort and beaches. The barge itself will, in effect, be a quasi-prison, where hundreds of young men will spend most of their time. Doing what? The port is heavily restricted and what happens if there’s trouble on board? Not to mention, what will they do in the wider community?
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
We cannot accept petitions about operational matters, which includes decisions about what specific accommodation in particular localities to use to accommodate asylum seekers.
We could accept a petition calling on the Government not to house asylum seekers in accommodation such as barges, if that's something you'd like to happen.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.