Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to reduce the evidential requirements for eligibility for compensation from the Windrush Compensation Scheme from beyond reasonable doubt to the balance of probabilities.

The Windrush Compensation Scheme awards compensation according to both actual losses and tariff-based awards. Where awards are for actual losses it is right we seek to obtain an appropriate level of assurance these losses were incurred in order to fulfil our duty to properly manage taxpayers’ money.

However, we do not expect people to meet the criminal standard of proof. We therefore published revised Windrush Compensation Scheme rules and guidance in October which clarify that the scheme operates on the balance of probabilities. This means caseworkers must be satisfied it is more likely than not that the losses and impacts being claimed for were suffered due to difficulties evidencing lawful status. We are working through more detailed changes to the ‘Loss of Access to Employment’ category to enable the actual losses section to be operated on the balance of probabilities as well.