Housing asylum seekers

ON Wednesday April 5, the UK Home Office announced that an accommodation barge in Portland Port, Dorset will be used to reduce intense pressure on the UK’s unsustainable asylum system and cut taxpayers’ costs caused by the major increase in Channel crossings.

Currently hotel accommodation for asylum seekers is costing Britain £6 million (€6.86 million) per day.

The barge, called the Bibby Stockholm, will be moored in

Portland Port and will accommodate about 500 single male adults during the time their asylum claims are processed.

The use of vessels to house migrants brings the UK in line with other European countries, for example in the Netherlands where migrants have successfully been accommodated on vessels, and Scotland which has also used vessels for Ukrainian refugees.

Last week the government announced that surplus mili­ tary sites will also be used to accommodate migrants who have entered the UK illegally.

A NEW enterprise has been hailed as a project underpinned by empathy and caused quite a stir on the season finale of Dragon’s Den in the UK.

Jo Proud stood in front of the intimidating dragons Deborah Meaden, Sara Davies, Touker Suleyman, Steven Bartlett, and Peter Jones and gave an emotional pitch while introducing her Mood Bears.

The Mood Bears were born from Jo Proud’s own struggle with mental health and while these bears were designed with children in mind, they have been known to help even adults cope with their mental health issues also.

There are currently eight Mood Bears from Happy Bear to Sad Bear, and Nervous Bear to Angry Bear, the main emotions are represented. These bears certainly were emotive as one of the dragons Peter Jones, clearly moved by the project, called on all of the dragons to get behind this ‘movement’ as he described it.

He invited all the dragons to invest £4,000 for 5 per cent of the company.

Jo Proud was visibly moved by the reaction and could not believe it when all five dragons agreed to invest all of the money, £20,000, for 25 per cent of the company between them.

With that amount of expertise on board, this is a product that is sure to succeed.

Each Mood Bear has its own colour and a small poem to help young and old cope with their emotions beginning ‘With feelings all confused and all in a muddle, each bear is unique and give the best cuddle’.

And really who doesn’t love a bear hug so if you want one visit https://moodbears.com/.