In late March this year, Dorset Council was made aware of discussions between Portland Port and the Home Office to site an accommodation barge for asylum seekers in Portland Port.
We immediately voiced objections to this on the basis that Portland is not a suitable location for this vessel. Dorset Council was not consulted by the Home Office and had no say in the decision. Dorset Council does not own the port.
Despite our concerns and those of others, the Home Office and Portland Port went ahead and signed the contract for this arrangement in early April.
In recognition of the council’s statutory responsibilities and to ensure robust arrangements are in place, we established a Multi-Agency Forum (MAF) with representatives from national, regional and local public sector agencies, Portland Port and the Home Office. This Forum meets weekly to discuss plans and arrangements for the barge.
The collective aim is to ensure minimal impact on local services, communities and businesses. The Forum is overseeing arrangements for the provision of health services, operational arrangements such as transport and waste, and the safety and security of local residents and the asylum seekers.
Throughout April and May, we also investigated whether to pursue legal action to challenge to the Home Office’s decision to site a barge for asylum seekers in Portland Port. We have our own in-house legal team but we also sought specialist, external legal advice from King’s Counsel, a national expert in this field.
After much careful consideration of the specialist legal advice and based on the experience of other councils across the country, we decided to not pursue legal action. Not only were we advised that a legal challenge would have been unlikely to succeed but that we would also have had to pay the legal costs incurred by the Home Office, as well as our own costs.
We sought specific advice about consultation and Leading Counsel advised that there was no duty on the Government to consult us.
Faced with such clear legal advice our position going forward is to work with the Home Office and our partners to ensure the smooth operation of the barge, with minimal impact on public services, local residents and local businesses. The provision for the asylum seekers accommodated on the barge must be properly resourced and effective.
We will continue to negotiate the funding for all associated costs (local services and provision) with the Home Office. Dorset Council, Dorset Police and NHS Dorset are clear that full funding must be provided by the Government for the barge arrangements and services for asylum seekers.
We do not want our residents and services negatively impacted by this situation, whether financially or otherwise.Â
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