Found: Generation: Compensation ], 28 January 2020. 123 Anonymous ( WCS0004 ), Gertrude Ngozi Chinegwundoh

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her Answer of 15 April 2021 to Question 179171, on Windrush Generation: Compensation, what was the average number of calendar days from the date a claim was received to a full and final payment date, as at 31 August 2021.

Answered by Priti Patel

The average number of calendar days from the date a claim was received to a full and final value or zero entitlement offer being made is 454, at 31 August 2021.

We continue to work at pace to process the claims we have received. All primary and deceased estate claims will have been considered for a preliminary payment of £10,000 within 6 weeks of eligibility being confirmed under the terms of the Scheme.

A preliminary payment is offered as soon as we receive the minimum level of information required to show that they will be entitled to compensation under the Scheme. Some individuals whose claims remain outstanding may also have received an urgent and exceptional payment. Such payments remain available for those who have an urgent and exceptional need that cannot wait for a payment to be made under the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her Answer of 29 April 2021 to Question 183169, on Windrush Generation: Compensation, what estimate she has made of the number of applications to the Windrush Compensation Scheme that remain outstanding more than (a) two years, (b) 18 months and (c) 12 months after the applicants first submitted those applications.

Answered by Priti Patel

The number of cases being worked through the Windrush Compensation Scheme as of 30th September are 1709. Of these

• 192 have been in the process for 12-18 months.
• 196 have been in the process for between18 months and 24 months.
• 24 have been in the process for over 24 months.

We continue to process the claims we receive as quickly as possible. Claims are taking longer to resolve than originally anticipated however there are 13 categories and each person’s experiences are different. We must ensure these are considered and understood carefully so we can offer people the maximum compensation to which they are entitled.

This holistic approach takes time but is ultimately beneficial to individuals. We are, however, committed to reducing the time between submission and decision significantly over the coming months.

Since April 2019, the Scheme has paid or offered £36.2 million. Of this, more than £30.6 million has been accepted and paid. Data on the number of claims received and the number of payments made is published as part of the regular transparency data release which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-compensation-scheme-data-september-2021

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether caseworkers who were previously working on the Windrush Compensation Scheme have been re-allocated as a result of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.

Answered by Priti Patel

As of August 2021, the Home Office (HO) has 63.1 FTE decision-making caseworkers working on the Scheme, which will increase by 56 Caseworkers over the next four months.

No Windrush Compensation Scheme caseworkers have been reallocated as a result of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department are working on the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

Answered by Priti Patel

As of August 2021, the Home Office (HO) has 63.1 FTE decision-making caseworkers working on the Scheme, which will increase by 56 Caseworkers over the next four months.

No Windrush Compensation Scheme caseworkers have been reallocated as a result of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for claimants of the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

Answered by Priti Patel

Since April 2019 the Scheme has offered or paid more than £34 million in compensation to members of the Windrush generation. On 21 July the Home Office (HO) published the latest set of data on the Scheme which covers the period to the end of June 2021. During the month of June, the HO paid out £2.4 million in compensation. More than £26 million in compensation has been paid across 776 claims.

In December we overhauled the Scheme and the changes have had an immediate effect on the speed and value of offers of compensation. Since the end of December, we have paid more than eight times the total amount paid previously.

However, the HO recognises that there is more still to do to speed up the time between submission and decision on claims. On 21 July the HO published a redesigned primary claim form which is easier for people to complete, and refreshed caseworker guidance which sets out clearly how caseworkers should apply the balance of probabilities and gather evidence to ensure claimants are only asked to provide the minimum information necessary. Together, these should reduce the time taken to process claims and improve peoples’ experiences of applying to the Scheme.

The HO is also recruiting more case workers. Since the end of April, casework FTE has been increased by seven caseworkers and a team of 14 experienced caseworkers onto the scheme from elsewhere in the HO. The HO is in the process of recruiting a further 15 caseworkers and plan to hold a large reserve list so vacancies created through attrition can be filled more quickly.

The HO is also directing resources to where it is needed most to maximise final decision output. In addition, we are improving the evidence-gathering process, including by revising the data-sharing agreements with other government departments.