Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the time taken to process claims to the Windrush Compensation Scheme from people in Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
I have regular discussions with Home Office ministers on a range of issues and I recognise the contribution of the Windrush Generation to Wales. I was pleased to meet the Windrush Cymru Elders at the Mission Seafarers in Newport on 31 October 2023.
The Windrush Compensation Scheme is determined to ensure everyone who was affected receives every penny of the compensation to which they are entitled at the earliest point possible. The scheme is making significant progress towards achieving this aim. As of the end of November 2023, the scheme had paid over £75 million in compensation and over 78% of claims received had been given a final decision.
The time to allocate a claim for a substantive casework consideration has been reduced significantly, from 18 months to under 4 months. The 4 month period includes all essential eligibility checks, together with a Preliminary Assessment to make an initial payment of £10,000 wherever possible.
However, each person’s claim is deeply personal and deserves to be processed with the utmost care and sensitivity so that the maximum payment can be made to them.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 29 April 2021 to Question 183169 on Windrush Compensation Scheme, how many and what proportion of applicants to the Windrush Compensation Scheme have died in the period between applying for and receiving compensation.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
As at the end of November 2023, in line with the latest published Transparency data, out of the 7,534 claims received by the Windrush Compensation Scheme, we are aware of 53 claimants* who have unfortunately passed away after having submitted a claim.
The Windrush Compensation Scheme staff are working hard to ensure claims are prioritised for claimants with critical or life-limiting illnesses.
In the unfortunate circumstances where a claimant has passed away after submitting a compensation claim, before the claim is fully resolved, the team continues to work closely with the appointed representative, usually members of the family, to ensure the compensation payment is made as quickly as possible to the family member.
Our priority is to ensure people receive the maximum compensation as quickly as possible. We have reduced the time to allocate a claim for a substantive casework consideration, from 18 months to under 4 months. The 4-month period includes all essential eligibility checks, together with a Preliminary Assessment to make an initial payment of £10k wherever possible.
*Please note that this data is manually recorded and is reliant on the person receiving the information on a claimant’s death, notifying the Windrush Compensation Scheme to record this information.
Asked by: Lord Norton of Louth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans the Home Office has to undertake post-legislative review of (1) the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, (2) the Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Act 2019, (3) the Offensive Weapons Act 2019, (4) the Extradition (Provisional Arrest) Act 2020, (5) the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020, and (6) the Windrush Compensation Scheme (Expenditure) Act 2020, in line with the policy of reviewing Acts three to five years after enactment.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We continue to review all aspects of the Compensation Scheme, listening and responding to feedback received from stakeholders and customers to ensure the Scheme is operating effectively for those affected. The Windrush Compensation Scheme will also undertake a review in October 2024, in line with the published Impact Assessment.
The Compensation Scheme has no end date and there is no cap on the number of claims we will accept or the amount of compensation we will pay out.
There is no planned timetable for post legislative scrutiny of the other bills mentioned in the question.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the effectiveness of the Windrush Compensation Scheme for affected groups.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Since April 2019, the Windrush Compensation Scheme has paid over £67 million in compensation.
The Scheme has reduced the time to allocate a claim for a substantive casework consideration, following completion of eligibility checks and a Preliminary Assessment, from 18 months to under 5 months.
The Home Office continues to listen to feedback from stakeholders and the communities and make improvements the scheme and the way it operates to ensure people receive the maximum compensation at the earliest point possible.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of compensation payments made under the Windrush Compensation Scheme to people experiencing psychological trauma resulting from discrimination because they could not prove their right to stay in the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Windrush Compensation Scheme is designed to compensate members of the Windrush generation and their families for the losses and impacts they have suffered because they were unable to demonstrate their lawful immigration status.
The scheme acts as a single gateway for compensation in fourteen categories covering a broad range of impacts, including denial of access to services and a deterioration in mental or physical health. There is no cap on the amount of compensation we will pay. This is in recognition of the wide-reaching ways people have been affected.
Since its launch, the Home Office has continued to listen and respond to feedback from affected individuals and stakeholders about the scheme, expanding and amending it as our understanding of the way people have been affected has improved. In August 2022 we expanded the homelessness category and introduced a completely new ‘Living Costs’ category for close family members.
Compensation payments are made as quickly as possible. Decision makers draw upon all the evidence that has been provided and gathered, to make a holistic assessment of the effect on an individual’s life. Each person’s claim is deeply personal and requires careful and detailed consideration to understand their individual circumstances and experiences. All claims are processed with the utmost care and sensitivity.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of compensation payments made under the Windrush Compensation Scheme for people who experienced discrimination from public services because they could not prove their right to stay in the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Windrush Compensation Scheme is designed to compensate members of the Windrush generation and their families for the losses and impacts they have suffered because they were unable to demonstrate their lawful immigration status.
The scheme acts as a single gateway for compensation in fourteen categories covering a broad range of impacts, including denial of access to services and a deterioration in mental or physical health. There is no cap on the amount of compensation we will pay. This is in recognition of the wide-reaching ways people have been affected.
Since its launch, the Home Office has continued to listen and respond to feedback from affected individuals and stakeholders about the scheme, expanding and amending it as our understanding of the way people have been affected has improved. In August 2022 we expanded the homelessness category and introduced a completely new ‘Living Costs’ category for close family members.
Compensation payments are made as quickly as possible. Decision makers draw upon all the evidence that has been provided and gathered, to make a holistic assessment of the effect on an individual’s life. Each person’s claim is deeply personal and requires careful and detailed consideration to understand their individual circumstances and experiences. All claims are processed with the utmost care and sensitivity.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of compensation payments made under the Windrush scheme to former armed forces personnel.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Windrush Compensation Scheme is designed to compensate members of the Windrush generation and their families for the losses and impacts they have suffered because they were unable to demonstrate their lawful immigration status.
The scheme acts as a single gateway for compensation in fourteen categories covering a broad range of impacts, including denial of access to services and a deterioration in mental or physical health. There is no cap on the amount of compensation we will pay. This is in recognition of the wide-reaching ways people have been affected.
Since its launch, the Home Office has continued to listen and respond to feedback from affected individuals and stakeholders about the scheme, expanding and amending it as our understanding of the way people have been affected has improved. In August 2022 we expanded the homelessness category and introduced a completely new ‘Living Costs’ category for close family members.
Compensation payments are made as quickly as possible. Decision makers draw upon all the evidence that has been provided and gathered, to make a holistic assessment of the effect on an individual’s life. Each person’s claim is deeply personal and requires careful and detailed consideration to understand their individual circumstances and experiences. All claims are processed with the utmost care and sensitivity.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 10 July (HL8747), how many claims are yet to be settled under the Windrush Compensation Scheme; and when they expect those claims to be settled.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The latest Transparency data for the Windrush Compensation Scheme was published on 21 June 2023, which covers the period up to the end of May 2023.
We understand ‘yet to be settled’ to mean claims which have not received a final decision and are in the ‘Work in Progress’ category.
The requested information, regarding how many claims are in the ‘Work in Progress’ (WIP) category can be found on Tab WCS_05 of Windrush Compensation Scheme data: May 2023 - GOV.UK
The Transparency data note 12 defines WIP as “WIP defined as claims at Registration, Eligibility, Preliminary Payment Consideration, Casework and QA stages, excluding any claim that has received a final offer at Payment, and any claim at Tier 1 and Tier 2.”
The department does not impose time limit targets for concluding claims, as each person’s claim is deeply personal and deserves to be processed with the utmost care and sensitivity. This holistic approach necessarily takes time but is ultimately beneficial to individuals.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the progress of the Windrush compensation scheme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
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 at the earliest point possible. The Windrush Compensation Scheme is making significant progress towards achieving this aim. As at the end of May 2023 the scheme had paid or offered more than £75 million in compensation and over 66% of claims received by the end of May 2023 had been given 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 made to the Scheme in December 2020 and August 2022, mean people receive significantly more money more quickly. Last year redesigned claim forms were published along with refreshed casework guidance, with the aim of reducing the time taken to process claims and improving individuals’ experiences of applying to the Scheme. Changes were also made to the Homelessness category and a new ‘Living Costs’ category was created, 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.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applicants for compensation under the Windrush compensation scheme died while waiting for a decision on their application.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Windrush Compensation Scheme staff are working hard to ensure where they are aware of claimants with critical or life-limiting illnesses, their cases are prioritised.
In the unfortunate circumstances where a claimant has passed away after submitting a compensation claim, but before the claim is fully resolved, the team continues to work closely with the appointed representative, usually members of the family, to ensure the compensation payment is made as quickly as possible to the family member.
The latest Transparency data is available at Gov.UK: Windrush Compensation Scheme data: May 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Please note that this data is manually recorded and is reliant on the person receiving the information on a claimant’s death, notifying the Windrush Compensation Scheme to record this information.