Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on ensuring that people eligible for compensation under the Windrush scheme have received the financial recompense they are entitled to; and if she will make a statement.

There has been significant outreach and communication activity to publicise the Windrush Compensation Scheme. These events have been promoted by stakeholders and on local and social media. We are now continuing events online: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/windrush-online-engagement-events.

We also work with MPs, local councils and stakeholders to raise awareness and materials on the scheme are available on GOV.UK and have been provided to community groups to try to ensure that all those affected are aware of the scheme.

Our recently published statistics on the payments made under the Windrush Compensation Scheme, show a clear increasing trajectory of payments: £362,997 paid in the first 12 months of the scheme, of which £300,799 was paid in the most recent three months of that period. Comprehensive data can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-compensation-scheme-data-may-2020.

The Home Office has additionally made offers of approximately £280,000 in compensation through the scheme. Once the offers are accepted by the applicants, the payments will be made.

We work with claimants throughout the process to obtain as much information about the claim as possible. This approach ensures that claimants receive the maximum possible amount to which they are entitled under the scheme.