Mentions:
1: Jonathan Reynolds (LAB - Stalybridge and Hyde) People’s faith in Government, already damaged by scandals such as Hillsborough, Bloody Sunday and Windrush - Speech Link
2: Kemi Badenoch (Con - Saffron Walden) The compensation scheme, which Mr Staunton oversaw, has been completed. - Speech Link
3: Kemi Badenoch (Con - Saffron Walden) Henry Staunton’s watch was the Horizon shortfall scheme. - Speech Link
4: Richard Drax (Con - South Dorset) First, his lawyer tells me that the compensation scheme is taking too long. - Speech Link
5: Stella Creasy (LAB - Walthamstow) It is not just about the Horizon scandal, but the nuclear veterans, Windrush, the Women Against State - Speech Link
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many claims for compensation under the Windrush compensation scheme have been awarded as of 15 June 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Information relating to the number of claims that have been paid compensation through the Windrush Compensation Scheme is included in Windrush Compensation Scheme Transparency Data, together with the Windrush Schemes Fact Sheet, both of which are published regularly.
The latest Transparency data for the Compensation Scheme was published on 1 June 2023, which covers the period up to the end of April 2023. Data covering the period of May 2023 up to 15 June 2023 has not been published yet.
The requested information can be found on Tab WCS_03 Windrush Compensation Scheme data: April 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The latest Windrush Schemes factsheet is available here: Windrush Schemes Factsheet – April 2023 - Home Office in the media (blog.gov.uk)
Mentions:
1: Baroness Chakrabarti (Lab - Life peer) It is incredibly important that we do not repeat the mistakes of the Windrush scheme. - Speech Link
2: Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD - Life peer) It simply provides financial power to the Secretary of State for expenditure on the compensation scheme - Speech Link
3: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer) That is not making a mistake.On the moral obligation to contribute to the compensation scheme that has - Speech Link
4: Baroness Brinton (LD - Life peer) For the short term, the actual scheme for this particular compensation package is something that I hope - Speech Link
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in dealing with compensation claims by Windrush victims.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The victims of the Windrush scandal suffered terrible injustices, and this Government remains steadfast in our commitment to do everything in our power to right the wrongs. We are determined to ensure everyone who was affected receives every penny of the compensation to which they are entitled. We are making significant progress towards achieving this aim, and we have now paid or offered more than £75 million in compensation as at the end of May 2023. Over 66% of claims received by the end of May 2023 have had a final decision.
Since its launch, the Home Office has continued to listen and respond to feedback from affected communities and stakeholders about how the Scheme operates and its accessibility. The changes we made to the Scheme in December 2020 and August 2022, mean people receive significantly more money more quickly. Last year we published redesigned claim forms and refreshed casework guidance, with the aim of reducing the time taken to process claims and improving individuals’ experiences of applying to the Scheme. We also made changes to the Homelessness category and created a new category, ‘Living Costs’, to compensate close family members for certain contributions to a primary claimant’s living costs. These significant and positive policy changes were made following consultation with claimants and stakeholders.
Mentions:
1: Lucy Powell (LAB - Manchester Central) However, he also made it absolutely clear that his final report on the compensation scheme has already - Speech Link
2: Florence Eshalomi (LAB - Vauxhall) compensation scheme. - Speech Link
3: Penny Mordaunt (Con - Portsmouth North) compensation scheme. - Speech Link
4: Meg Hillier (LAB - Hackney South and Shoreditch) As well as the gay veterans’ scheme and other compensation schemes, would the Leader of the House take - Speech Link
Jan. 31 2024
Source Page: New Head of Office appointedFound: HMRC and the Valuation Office Agency, and its crucial work to provide a second tier review under the Windrush
Mentions:
1: Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Lab - Life peer) the terms of the scheme as they stand today, and can he indicate any sort of timescale for this? - Speech Link
2: Lord Fox (LD - Life peer) For example, the process of compensating the victims of the Windrush scandal has been achingly slow. - Speech Link
3: Lord Offord of Garvel (Con - Life peer) In 2020, the Horizon shortfall scheme was set up, designed on the understanding that compensation was - Speech Link
4: Baroness Manzoor (Con - Life peer) outrageous, but there are other scandals that we know about as well, such as infected blood, Hillsborough, Windrush - Speech Link
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to increase the number of full time equivalent staff working on processing Windrush Compensation Scheme claims.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Scheme has reached its public commitment of deploying 154 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Executive Office (EO) Decision Makers by Quarter 2 2023. The Scheme also continues to run ongoing recruitment campaigns to ensure the necessary level of staffing is maintained and has continued to backfill those who leave.
As set out by the Home Secretary at the Windrush Working Group Meeting on 24 January 2023, additional experienced EO decision makers have also been deployed on a temporary basis to assist with accelerating decision making; these staff are in addition to meeting the public commitment to post 154 substantive EO decision makers recruited.
Regarding allocating additional funds to the Windrush Compensation Scheme, there is no cap on the amount of compensation the Scheme will pay out. The Government is determined to right the wrongs for affected members of the Windrush generation and will ensure that all funding requirements are met.
Mentions:
1: Lucy Powell (LAB - Manchester Central) similar to other injustices in which the state or corporate cover-up has wronged ordinary people, such as Windrush - Speech Link
2: Florence Eshalomi (LAB - Vauxhall) including my constituents, who have been caught up in similar outrageous scandals from Grenfell to Windrush - Speech Link
3: Penny Mordaunt (Con - Portsmouth North) from the local community, and something has gone wrong if the community is so galvanised against a scheme - Speech Link
4: Penny Mordaunt (Con - Portsmouth North) The next questions to the Department, which I think runs that best practice scheme, are on 22 January - Speech Link
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unsuccessful claims for compensation under the Windrush compensation scheme have been subject to appeal up to 1 June 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Windrush Compensation Scheme has established a review process for those dissatisfied with their compensation offer. First, a review can be conducted through an internal Home Office review by a senior decision maker not involved with the original decision (Tier 1). If someone is still dissatisfied, an independent review is conducted by the Adjudicator’s Office (Tier 2).
Information relating to the number of Windrush Compensation Scheme claims that applied for a Tier 1 or Tier 2 review is included in Windrush Compensation Scheme Transparency Data.
The latest Transparency data for the Compensation Scheme was published on 1 June 2023, which covers the period up to the end of April 2023. Data covering the period of May 2023 up to 1 June 2023 has not yet been published.
The requested information can be found on Tab WCS_09 Windrush Compensation Scheme data: April 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)