MPs tackle dangerous dogs and food poverty


(This article was published in the Brighton Argus today – 27th November 2023) The plans for Parliament this week based on the “TheyWorkForYou” website which last week did not seem very significant but this week include one session this afternoon reflects views from many people. Organised by Nicholas Fletcher, the Conservative MP for Don Valley, South Yorkshire in Westminster Hall are the “e-petitions 624876 and 643611 relating to legislation in respect of dangerous dogs”. These two e-petitions have more than 712,000 public signatures and indeed the second one is still active so numbers may well rise in the next three months. Last week a discussion organised by Marsha de Cordova, a Labour MP for London involving three e-petitions for “Relating to pay and financial support for healthcare students”. The signatures were few but the important was significant and not many MPs took part. There were two Labour’s and one Minister, all of which are based in North England. Let us hope that the event today will involve some MPs from the South including Sussex representatives.

Last week several actions on Monday related to the “Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill” and along with several discussions there were four votes on the clauses. As it happened the Government rejected all of the four clauses and in Sussex there were several Conservatives that agreed with the Government and there were votes from two Labour MPs and the Green MP in support of the clauses. However five Conservatives did not vote, they were Nusrat Ghani, Gillian Keegan and Huw Merriman who are all Ministers and also Peter Bottomley and Tim Loughton from Worthing. I am intrigued to find out why these ministers and MPs from Sussex have not voted in favour of the Government.

Along with those events last week and the plan for this week it is noteworthy that some groups of MPs have raised Early Day Motions following the Kings Speech in Parliament three weeks ago. One EDM was published by Jon Trickett, the Labour MP for Hemsworth in West Yorkshire entitled “Food banks”. Although he submitted it on the 9th November, it was not released until the 14th November the same day of the Kings 75th Birthday celebration in which the King raised the issue of Food banks publicly. Some of us are aware that the Government needs to support charities that are distributing food to provide for those effected by food poverty and so this is a compelling item. The content for this EDM which is number 54 is as follows:

That this House notes with extreme concern the new figures from The Trussell Trust which showed that 1.5 million food parcels were provided to people between April and September 2023 by food banks in the charity’s UK-wide network, which is a 16% increase on the same period in 2022; highlights that 320,000 people have needed to use a food bank for the first time in the past six months; notes that a record 540,000 food parcels were provided for more than 265,000 children living in families who could not afford the essentials, which is an 11% increase compared to the same period last year; highlights the grave concerns expressed by the UN Poverty envoy Olivier De Schutter on poverty levels in the UK; and urges the Government to act now to tackle poverty by ensuring decent pay, investment and high quality public services.

After the EDM was published the first five MPs who signed it to support the motion as sponsors were three that did so two weeks ago. Two were Labour MPs and the third was Caroline Lucas the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion. Last week two more Labour colleagues endorsed the sponsor and so far, three more added their signatures, one SNP and two Labour MPs. There have been several EDMs since 2008 until January 2023 that have focused on Trussell and FareShare aims. The largest ones are listed here.

In June 2013, “FARESHARE” was published by Grahame Morris, a Labour MP in Yorkshire with forty-six MP’s including Peter Bottomley the Conservative MP for Worthing West. At the same time “FOOD BANKS AND FOOD POVERTY’’ related to Trussell from Roger Godsiff the Labour MP for Birmingham with fifty-five MP’s including Caroline Lucas. In September 2020 “Centrica” came from John Cryer a Labour MP from London with sixty-seven people including Caroline and Lloyd Russell-Moyle the Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown. In December 2020 and December 2021 Ian Byrne a Labour MP from Liverpool created two EDMs called “Food insecurity”. The first involved fifty-eight MP’s including Caroline and Lloyd and the second had forty-eight MP’s included Caroline. In February 2021 “Support to tackle food waste” focusing on FareShare was set by Neil Parish a Conservative MP in Devon with sixty-three MP’s including Peter and Lloyd. FareShare, on their facebook page explain more about the new food project.

The Coronation Food Project will build on existing networks operated by the charity FareShare across the UK and The Felix Project across London, both tackling food waste and redirecting surplus food to a range of community organisations, from after-school clubs and homeless shelters to nursing homes and domestic violence refugees.

It would be very encouraging if Peter and Lloyd will endorse “Food banks” as they have done before. There are also six other Sussex MPs that are not members of the Government, it would be encouraging if they would consider responding the Coronation Food Project described on the day of the Kings Birthday request.

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Lets ask our MP’s about FareShare requirements


A number of years ago in 1989 the Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Labour colleagues created the Early Day Motions (EDM) which are intended to enable MPs who are not members of the Government to be able to proposed ideas for the Government to adopt for Parliament. One of the themes that have emerged in the past is proposals from MPs who are passionate of the work of FareShare and Trussell Trusts that are working for food to be provided for people in communities. It would be very helpful for us to communicate our MPs to consider picking up this theme for our current and indeed future Governments. There have been 13 EDM’s for FareShare which is significant although there are 23 EDM’s for Trussell Trust which includes on a few weeks ago. The most recent FareShare was in February 2021 so it would be great to persuade our MPs to submit an EDM for FareShare now!

The first FareShare EDM was called “FARESHARE FOR LEEDS” which was set out by a Liberal Democrat MP from Leeds in December 2009 and it was just before the Labour team stopped being the Government. There were 12 other MPs that endorsed it. Three years later in December 2012 another Liberal Democrat MP from Colchester created “TESCO, THE TRUSSELL TRUST AND FARESHARE” and 12 other MPs endorsed it including Peter Bottomley who is the Conservative MP for Worthing West. A few days later Karl Turner the MP for Kingston upon Hull East created an EDM entitled “ADDRESSING FOOD POVERTY WITH FOOD INDUSTRY SURPLUSES” and he achieved 24 more MPs which included Peter Bottomley and Caroline Lucas who is the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion. The text was

That this House recognises the significant and deepening problem of food poverty in communities across the UK and notes the important role that hon. Members can play in championing the issue both within Parliament and within their own constituencies; further recognises the critical role that leading food charity FareShare plays by working with the food industry and community groups to address food poverty by making good use of surplus food fit for human consumption; calls on community leaders including local councillors to show leadership on the issue and work with FareShare, hon. Members, community groups and the food industry to alleviate levels of food poverty; and further calls on responsible food businesses to recognise the important role that they can play in alleviating food poverty by working with FareShare to utilise food surpluses.

Six months later in June 2013 Grahame Morris the Labour MP for Easington published “FARESHARE” and 46 more MPs endorsed it which included Peter Bottomley and also the Conservative MP for Hove, Mike Weatherley. The text was

That this House acknowledges the innovative partnership between FareShare, Asda and its suppliers to distribute 1,500 tonnes per year of surplus chilled and fresh food to charities and community organisations across the UK; commends Asda’s donation of £100,000 to grow FareShare’s capacity to receive this additional food which is a 41 per cent increase in the total amount of all food currently redistributed by FareShare in a year; recognises the excellent work of Asda and FareShare in both reducing food waste and tackling food poverty; and notes that this is the first national partnership of its kind on this scale and a model of best practice for the UK grocery retail sector, providing up to 3.6 million meals per year and saving the charity FareShare £4.5 million, freeing up much-needed money for investment in other essential services.

There have been another 8 FareShare EDMs from July 2013 through to July 2020 but none of them were as large as the one in June 2013. However in February 2021 there was a FareShare EDM which is entitled “Support to tackle food waste” that was created by Neil Parish, the Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton (Devon). He was agreed by 60 MPs from a wide range of settings and they included 22 Scotland, 8 Welsh, 8 London, 3 NI and a number of other areas including Peter Bottomley and also Lloyd Russell-Moyle who is the Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown so 2 from Sussex.

That this House recognises the valuable work of FareShare, the UK’s biggest charity fighting hunger and food waste, in providing two million meals per week to people in need during the covid-19 pandemic; acknowledges that it is deeply regrettable that two million tonnes of food goes to waste in the UK every year, as well as noting that food waste has a significant negative environmental impact, which can be mitigated by FareShare’s work with British farmers and the food industry to divert waste food to people’s plates through their Surplus With Purpose scheme; and encourages the Government to continue to support FareShare in that endeavour.

Also there was an amendment for that EDM created by Wera Hobhouse entitled “Support to tackle food waste” and six of other MPs endorsed her amendment so that means that there are a total of 68 MPs that have endorsed this document. They include another 2 Scotland and 1 NI people. The amendment text from Wera is this.

At end, add “; and furthermore, this House recognises the valuable work of other organisations in the surplus food redistribution sector and acknowledges the benefits of an agile and diverse network, which is able to receive surplus food in the UK in a collaborative manner, and to ensure that surplus food reaches more end beneficiaries until such time that food poverty levels are reduced.”

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Mental Health: Children and Young People in Brighton


On Thursday this session took place in the House of Lords and one of the members of the Government who contributed was Nick Markham who was born in the Haywards Heath area. He raised his comments and one of the the items was a Brighton Boy. So here is the text he stated which can be obtained from here.

I thank all noble Lords for their contributions to this debate. Before replying, I add my congratulations to the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Hale, on her maiden speech. I am sorry that no one was able to add to the Yorkshire hat trick and, speaking as a Brighton boy, I cannot get much further away than that. I found the reasons for the delay fascinating; it was an education for me, as I did not quite realise her involvement in so many things. For me, it was well worth the wait, and it is a personal honour to be able to reply after such a distinguished and accomplished speaker. I invite her, along with all other speakers, to join—as the noble Baroness, Lady Wheeler, mentioned—the round table that I have organised with the Minister, Maria Caulfield, where we can follow up some of the themes brought out today in more detail. I would be delighted if the noble and learned Baroness were able to add her experience to that round table.

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Caroline Ansell spoked about International people’s Day


On Tuesday this week a group of MPs contributed in a International Men’s Day discussion that was organised by Nicholas Fletcher who is the Conservative MP for Don Valley. He began with “I beg to move, That this House has considered International Men’s Day. We are here to celebrate International Men’s Day, which took place on Sunday 19 November. It is a day to celebrate all the good that men have done, but also a day to shine a light on the things that adversely affect men so much.” He then commented a significant contribution which can be seen here along with the comments from all of the other MPs. One of them was Caroline Ansell who is the MP for Eastbourne and this is what she stated and the initial response from Nicholas Fletcher to her is below

Caroline Ansell: My hon. Friend has made a passionate case for why young boys need very strong male role models. I would argue that young girls and women need those strong role models too. I entirely support his call for a Minister for men, but would he take this opportunity to congratulate A Band of Brothers, a group in my constituency that provides male mentorship? It has seen incredible, inspiring, transformational success in the lives of the young men it has come alongside. That essential ingredient, role modelling, by a more experienced and mature man, has truly made the difference.

Nicholas Fletcher: I could not agree more. Girls need role models too, which is so important. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on issues affecting men and boys, and as a Member of Parliament who takes this issue so seriously, I ask my hon. Friend to pass on my thanks to the charity for all the work it is doing….

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Debates ahead are key for student nurses


(This article was published in the Brighton Argus today – 20th November 2023) This afternoon Parliament will debate several e-petitions organised by a number of people during last year entitled ‘Relating to pay and financial support for healthcare students’ organised by Marsha de Cordova, the Labour MP for Battersea London. This debate was originally planned for the 11th September after it was promoted in July just before the Parliament summer break and yet it is only now being debated. None of these e-petitions have been reached with 100,000 signatures, the level for Parliament to discuss them, but all of these e-petitions are essential subjects.

The first is “Ensure student nurses are paid for placement hours” which has 13,076 signatures with two Sussex areas, Wealden constituency and Hastings and Rye, having a high number of signatures. The second is “Extend 30 hours free childcare to student midwives / nurses / paramedics” with 11,366 signatures and Worthing West constituency and Wealden holding the largest Sussex signatures. Then the “Minimum wage pay for all healthcare students for placement hours worked!” has total of 11,763 signatures with largest signatures in Hastings and Rye.

Another e-petition event planned for next Monday is organised by Nicholas Fletcher the Conservative MP at Don Valley. His petition, “relating to legislation in respect of dangerous dogs” The smallest e-petition is “Repeal the current Dangerous Dogs Act and replace with new framework” which has 107,099 signatures with Sussex holding the largest signatures in Hastings and Rye, Bexhill and Battle, Brighton Pavilion. The other one is noteworthy because it was only formed on the 13th September and so far, has more than 600,000 signatures and is currently the 7th largest e-petition in the UK. It is entitled “Bad owners are to blame not the breed – don’t ban the XL bully”, the largest Sussex signatures are Hastings and Rye, Brighton Pavilion, Crawley, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. Many of us will be hoping for other e-petitions to be discussed in Parliament very soon. It is clear that are several recent e-petitions holding importance for the UK and which have many Sussex supporters.

King Charles III had his 75th Birthday last week and made several contributions that corresponded to the Parliament debates. His Birthday report from the BBC stated “The King’s birthday plans will also involve him hosting a reception for NHS nurses and midwives.” They described; “The centrepiece of the public side of the King’s birthday has been the official launch of his Coronation Food Project, with the King and Queen visiting a surplus-food distribution centre in Didcot in Oxfordshire. The project is designed to tackle the double problem of increasing numbers of people unable to afford food, while millions of tonnes of surplus food is being thrown away.” The King actually said: “Food need is as real and urgent a problem as food waste.” and “too many families and individuals missing out on nutritious meals”.

Although it was good to read that the Conservative Party Conference held discussions with the Trussell Trust and two Sussex MP’s Mims Davies and Caroline Ansell but they could go further in promoting the Government to take more notice of the Kings words and to understand more about the work of the Charity FareShare which positively impacts Sussex in both of their constituents.  Our Nation would benefit if the Government would eliminate the need for food banks by focussing on commitments which make sure the UK is properly fed.

Interestingly another theme that was revealed during the Kings Birthday celebration was that “He will be travelling to speak at the COP28 climate change summit in Dubai at the end of this month.” As it happened last Thursday in Parliament a session entitled “COP28 General debate” took place. The discussion lasted ninety minutes and involved many MPs, but sadly no Sussex MPs took part.

Other interesting items for Sussex included two Voting sessions both presented by the Labour Party, and rejected by the Conservative Government and their MPs. The first “Economic Growth” included two Sussex Conservative MPs speaking before the vote. All MPs apart from Jeremy Quin voted and Sally-Ann Hart and Henry Smith spoked in the discussion session. The second event was “Violence Reduction, Policing and Criminal Justice” but no Sussex MPs spoke about it. Most of them voted for all three items in opposition. Two MPs that did not vote at all were Nusrat Ghani and Maria Caulfield and Caroline Lucas and Lloyd Russell-Moyle voted in favour of two of the themes and Peter Kyle only voted for one of the themes.

Another significant item was entitled “Examination of Witnesses” that took place on Tuesday with contributions by a number of MPs. Lloyd Russell-Moyle, was the only Sussex MP who spoke with passion of fifty one occasions. His first comment was “As per my entry on the register of interests, I receive some support from campaigning organisations that support my office and that campaign on this issue; and I have lodgers at my house.”

Importantly last week was the information that Nick Gibb, the MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton stating his intention to stand down as Education minister. “To enable me to do so I have asked the Prime Minister if I can step down from the government at the reshuffle and he has agreed.” At least two other Sussex MPs are also stepping down at the next General Election.

Another eventful week in Parliament with world events even more pressing to respond and contribute a resolve.

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Welsh Government Social Justice referred to FareShare


Jane Hutt is a Labour Member of Senedd for the Welsh Parliament and on Monday and also on Wednesday she was involved in Foodbanks discussion for Wales. The Monday session began from Heledd Fychan who is the Plaid Cymru who began with the comment “What support is provided to foodbanks in South Wales Central to ensure that they continue to be able to meet people’s needs?” and two days later Alun Davies who is also a Labour Member who began with the comment “How is the Welsh Government supporting foodbanks in Blaenau Gwent?”. The first comment on Monday was provided by Jane Hutt as the person to speak which was

Thank you very much for that question. We have supported the development of cross-sector food partnerships across Wales, enabling the co-ordination of on-the-ground food-related activity to help to tackle the root causes of food poverty. This will support local initiatives such as foodbanks and will ensure that resources are targeted at areas of greatest need.

Heledd Fychan then responded to her and then Jane responded back and part of her response included this subject which focused this on FareShare.

But I think, crucially, as well, it’s working with the Minister for rural affairs, the Trefnydd, on the community food strategy. But foodbanks, of course, do some much more. They are absolutely vital to the community. They provide financial and welfare signposting and advice, cost-of-living advice. But can I just say also that there’s been a real pressure on, actually, access to food? You’ll have heard that from your food banks, because FareShare—. They redistributed nearly 1,500 tonnes of good food surplus last year, but they’ve had a short-term issue in supply over the last four or five months. So, I’m continuing to work with all of those who are working in this field.

On Wednesday the first session came from Jane

Since 2019 the Welsh Government has allocated over £18 million to support foodbanks and community food organisations across Wales, including in Blaenau Gwent, to tackle food poverty and provide a wider range of services to help individuals and households maximise their income and build financial resistance.

Alun Davies then follows up from her and she then responds and then Peredur Owen Griffiths from Plaid Cymru comments and then Jane responds and part of her contribution is

Diolch yn fawr, Peredur. Following up that important question from Alun Davies, I’ve already mentioned the funding that we’ve been providing to support community food organisations, and I’ve also mentioned—which links to it—the funding we’re giving to the Fuel Bank Foundation. Just on that point about the Fuel Bank Foundation, many people are in fuel and food poverty. In fact, we know that many people are no longer able to cook food because of the cost of electricity, so there’s more use of cold food. And actually, this is where the pantries that are developing, like the food sharing in Cwm and other pantries around Wales—Big Bocs Bwyd, FareShare—providing fresh food and fruit, as well as perhaps tinned food and food that needs to be heated—. But we’re doing everything that we can not just in terms of providing funding for community food organisations, which helps to access food supplies, but also to pay for those fridge freezers.

So it is very encouraging for the Welsh Parliament to contribute FareShare on the two cases – let us hope that they will call for support to FareShare and also for them to persuade UK Government to also do so.

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The Nottingham MP Nadia Whittome is aware of YMCA


On Thursday in Parliament there was a session entitled Topical Questions and a wide range of MPs contributed which included Nadia Whittome who is the Nottingham East representative. Her question began with the reference to a YMCA report that reports that £1.1 billion has been cut from youth services and the response from the Government came from Lucy Frazer who is the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The item is here and I have put the text below.

Nadia: A YMCA report last year found that £1.1 billion had been cut from youth services since 2010-11—a real-terms cut of 74%. While the Government’s national youth guarantee does provide a funding injection for youth services, it is nowhere near enough to reverse those cuts, and the funding is predominantly for capital investments. Will the Secretary of State commit to providing youth services with the sustainable revenue funding that they desperately need?

Lucy: I invite the hon. Member to read a speech I gave on youth, which is a massive priority of mine. We are funding significantly through DCMS and through the National Citizen Service as well as through a number of Departments. There are Home Office funds, Justice funds, and funds through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

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Islamophobia Awareness Month EDM in Parliament


Last week Christine Jardine who is the Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh published an EDM item that is entitled Islamophobia Awareness Month which can be seen here and the text is below. So far 20 other MPs have endorsed it and the first 5 other people who have signed to support the motion are the sponsors. Three of them are other Liberal Democrat MPs and there is also Caroline Lucas who is the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion and the other person is a Labour MP for Birmingham, Tahir Ali. The others who have signed it so far include another 4 Liberal Democrats, 4 SNPs, all 3 Plaid Cymru’s, another 1 Labour MP, a DUP and interestingly the Worthing West MP Peter Bottomley who has signed it for Conservatives so far. So here is the text and it will be interesting to find out who else may support it next week when MPs are able to do so again.

That this House supports Islamophobia Awareness Month, which is taking place this November; recognises the incredible contributions that British Muslims make to our country; acknowledges that anti-Muslim sentiment is far too prevalent in our society; notes with concern that the horrifying Israel-Gaza conflict has led to a rise in Islamophobia in the UK, with Tell MAMA reporting a sevenfold increase of anti-Muslim incidents between 7 and 29 October compared to the same period last year; emphasises the importance of standing up to religious hatred in all its forms; and calls on the Government to ensure that public bodies have the resources and training they need to identify and prevent hate crimes.

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The Newcastle MP Chi is calling to promote STEM


On Tuesday Chi Onwurah who is the Labour MP for Newcastle Upon Tyne Central wrote two questions to the Government that both focused on STEM. This is very good for an MP to be challenging the Government. The questions and answers are below. Along with her being the Newcastle MP she is also the Labour Shadow Minister for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The person who responded the first one who responded was Robert Halfon and the second person was Alex Burghat and they are both Ministers for the Government.

The first one is here which is entitled STEM Subjects: New Businesses

Chi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to produce a strategy on increasing entrepreneurship among STEM higher education students.

Robert: The Government has established a supportive framework to empower universities in equipping students with the essential skills required for success.

The department is investing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education at all levels to ensure students have access to high-quality STEM teaching and STEM career opportunities. The department is investing approximately £750 million of additional funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25 in high-quality teaching and facilities. This includes additional funding in science and engineering, in subjects that support the NHS, and in degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the higher education (HE) sector in over a decade to support students and improve teaching.

The Higher Education Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey showed that the number of graduate start-ups increased by 5% (from 4,528 in 2020/21 to 4,735 in 2021/22), which is the highest annual figure in the survey’s history.

The National Careers Service also provides free, up to date, impartial information, advice, and guidance on careers, skills, and the Labour Market in England. The service provides support to individuals studying STEM subjects in HE, and helps industry sectors to disseminate key information and updates.

Students and taxpayers invest tens of thousands of pounds in HE. This must lead to good quality qualifications, which equip students with the skills they need to achieve their potential.

The second one is here which is entitled Civil Servants: STEM Subjects

Chi: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s news story entitled Civil Service Fast Stream exceeds target to boost STEM expertise across Government published on 25 October 2023, what proportion of Fast Stream hires in the 2023 recruitment campaign had a STEM degree qualification; and of those, what proportion held degrees in (a) science, (b) technology, (c) engineering and (d) maths.

Alex: Over 50% of Fast Stream hires in the 2023 recruitment campaign had a STEM degree qualification. Our STEM categorisation is based on subject groups provided by the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA). Therefore it is not possible to break hires down by (a) science, (b) technology, (c) engineering and (d) maths; as we do not collect or analyse the data in this way.

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Lloyd Russell-Moyle asked about the Bibby Stockholm


On Monday Lloyd Russell-Moyle who is the MP for Brighton Pavilion submitted a question to the Government about them “became aware of legionnaire’s disease on the Bibby Stockholm.” and the response from the Government was Robert Jenrick who is the Minister for Immigration. The question and answer is available here and the text is below. There is also information about the Bibby Stockholm in Wikipedia that begins with the information that “The ship was built in 1976 and it was converted into an accommodation barge in 1992. From 1994 to 1998, it was used to house the homeless, including some asylum seekers, in Hamburg, Germany.” The piece explains how it moved around from many companies until “In April 2023, the Government of the United Kingdom announced plans to use the barge to house asylum seekers at Portland Port in Dorset, stating it would “offer better value for money for taxpayers than hotels”, referring to the £5.6 million daily bill for accommodating asylum seekers in hotels. However, The Guardian reported in July 2023 that the barge may only make a small cost saving.” The information from Wikipedia is here and here is the question and response on Monday in Parliament.

Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department became aware of legionnaire’s disease on the Bibby Stockholm.

Robert: As a temporary precaution to reduce the health risk as much as possible, on 11 August the Home Office went beyond the UKHSA advice and disembarked all 39 asylum seekers from the vessel to contingency asylum accommodation.

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