Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to review the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the efficiency of the Windrush Compensation Scheme in processing claims.

The Home Office is 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.

The Home Office recently published statistics on the payments made under the Windrush Compensation Scheme (WCS) at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-compensation-scheme-data-july-2020.

These show a clear increasing trajectory of payments: £755,111 paid up to 30 June 2020, of which £392,114 was paid in the most recent three months of that period. which includes the initial period of the covid-19 lockdown.

I also announced on 15 July that over £1.5m has now been offered in compensation to claimants. Once the offers are accepted by the applicants, the payments will be made. The trajectory of compensation awards therefore continues to increase, despite the covid-19 lockdown.