Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress has been made on the Windrush compensation scheme; and what further steps she plans to take to speed up the compensation process for claimants.

We publish information on the total number of claims submitted, claims paid and the overall amount paid out by the Windrush Compensation Scheme on a quarterly basis. The latest set of data can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-compensation-scheme-data-february-2020.

We are processing claims as quickly as possible, but all claims are different, and the time taken will depend on many factors, including the complexity of the case. We are committed to working with the claimant to ensure all possible information is taken into account and this will have an impact on the length of time it takes to process the claim. Wherever possible, we will make interim payments on parts of the claim that are straightforward to determine, such as immigration fees, thereby speeding up the provision of compensation.

In recent months, we have made several announcements in relation to the Windrush Compensation Scheme to encourage more people to submit a claim, and to help those who already have. We have extended the length of the Scheme by two years, to April 2023, to give individuals more time to submit a claim for compensation. We have also amended the mitigation policy – the criteria by which financial settlements are made – to take a wider range of circumstances into account when deciding awards. This change may help some people qualify for higher awards, particularly relating to loss of employment.

We recently announced that we will launch a dedicated national communications campaign, targeting individuals affected by Windrush across the UK. Further to this, we will open a £500k fund for grassroots organisations to promote the schemes. The fund and communications campaign will help to raise awareness of the Windrush Compensation Scheme and encourage eligible people to apply.