HMT “Empire Windrush”: 80th Anniversary
Debate between Baroness Dacres of Lewisham and Baroness Taylor of Stevenage(2 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Baroness Dacres of Lewisham (Lab)
My Lords, as we approach this significant anniversary, can my noble friend the Minister update the House on the progress in delivering the Windrush compensation scheme? What is being done to speed up the claims, especially of elderly applicants?
Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)
My noble friend is quite right to raise this issue. As of January 2025, over £124 million had been paid across to 3,866 Windrush compensation scheme claims, and 94% of claims have now received a final decision. We remain committed to improving the compensation scheme to make sure that it reflects the lived experience of individuals. In response to feedback from the Windrush commissioner, communities and claimants, significant policy improvements were announced in October last year and implemented in January this year.
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Debate between Baroness Dacres of Lewisham and Baroness Taylor of StevenageMonday 9th February 2026
(2 months, 3 weeks ago)
Grand CommitteeRead Full debate English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 View all English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: HL Bill 150-VI(b) Amendments for Grand Committee (Supplementary to the Sixth Marshalled List) - (9 Feb 2026)
Baroness Dacres of Lewisham (Lab)
Just to correct some of what the noble Baroness alluded to, I see Lewisham as a mix of inner and outer London because we have the south circular and diverse aspects to our borough. She mentioned the police station. All our police station fronts, bar one, have been closed. Lewisham has the largest police station in London—in fact, in Europe—and I am sure that is the sole reason why it has not been closed. It includes horses, as well as other back-office support for the police. I wanted to correct that for the record, because the noble Baroness made it seem as though we are open because of our distance from central London, and that is not the case.
Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)
I thank the noble Baroness and my noble friend for those helpful comments. I want to be absolutely clear that it was not a formal consultation I had on Saturday; it was an informal meeting, but a number of London leaders were there. It was not representative, so I will not pretend it was, but it is clear to me that there is more work to do before moving forward with this. Between now and Report I am happy to meet all those who have spoken in this debate but, for now, I will withdraw Amendment 174.