Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any applicants to the Windrush Compensation Scheme have been apprehended by immigration enforcement since the launch of that scheme.
Answered by Kevin Foster
In response to question UIN: 41960
Any information provided as part of a compensation claim is solely used for the purpose of assessing that claim. Information provided as part of a compensation claim is held on a separate system, and is not shared outside of the compensation team. Information provided as part of a compensation claim would never be passed on to Immigration Enforcement or used as part of enforcement action.
Immigration Enforcement have put in place safeguards to ensure members of the Windrush generation are not subjected to enforcement action. Whenever a person is encountered who claims to be a member of the Windrush generation or to be in the UK lawfully, they are referred to the Windrush Help Team to consider their case and, if appropriate, issue documentation under the Windrush (status) Scheme confirming their right to be in the UK. No enforcement action is taken against individuals whose status is under review by the Windrush Help Team, or who have an ongoing Windrush (status) Scheme application.
Anyone is free to submit a claim to the Windrush Compensation Scheme, irrespective of whether they are actually eligible for compensation. It is possible for a person who is in the UK unlawfully, and who is not a member of the Windrush generation, to submit an unmeritorious compensation claim. They may, rightly, be subject to enforcement action on the basis of information obtained by Immigration Enforcement independently. We do not hold data on how many compensation claimants have later faced enforcement action.
In response to question UIN: 41961
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. In response to feedback, we have re-designed the primary claim form to make it easier to complete.
We have designed the compensation scheme to be as clear and simple as possible, so people do not need legal assistance to make a claim. We have published a redesigned primary claim form which now has a Crystal Mark from the Plain English Campaign, demonstrating our commitment to ensuring the scheme is accessible and as easy to use as possible.
The new form includes more targeted and closed questions to help people understand and provide the key information we need from them. We believe the new form will improve peoples’ experiences of applying to the scheme and help to speed up the processing of claims by reducing the amount of additional information and evidence we must ask people to provide.
We have made the evidential threshold as low as possible. Our intent is to ask for the minimum evidence necessary to reduce the burden on individuals, whilst maximising the offers we can make. In doing so we are seeking to strike the right balance between ensuring the scheme is comprehensive and covers the broadest range of circumstances, whilst also making it easy to navigate.
However, for those who want or need support to make a claim, the Home Office provides free assistance in making applications through our independent claims assistance provider - We Are Digital. The Windrush Compensation Scheme Help Team can also assist individuals should they have questions about the claim form or process.
We continue to work extensively with communities and stakeholders to raise awareness of the Scheme and encourage affected individuals to apply.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the total number of persons who are entitled to claim compensation under the Windrush Compensation Scheme as (a) primary claimants, (b) close family members and (c) estate claimants.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office’s planning assumptions for the Windrush Compensation Scheme are based on 4000-6000 eligible claims. These assumptions are not broken down into the sub-categories requested.
However, as at the end of February 2022, 3,618 claims had been received, broken down as follows:
Primary claim 2,756
Close Family Member claim 577
Deceased Estate claim 285
We believe the current planning assumptions more accurately reflect the number of eligible claims we are likely to receive, a range has been adopted to reflect the inherent uncertainty. The Home Office monitors the latest data and insights to inform this analysis.
The Home Office is committed to ensuring all affected members of the Windrush generation make a claim and receive the maximum compensation to which they are entitled.
To ensure no one is prevented from making a claim if they are eligible, simply because a deadline has passed, or because we have received more claims than we had planned for, we have removed the formal end date of the scheme.
There is no cap on the amount of compensation we will pay out or the number of claims we will accept.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government has discussed the Windrush Compensation Scheme with Prime Minister Holness of Jamaica.
Answered by Wendy Morton
This Government is resolute in our determination to see that members of the Windrush generation receive in full the compensation that they are entitled to.
The Caribbean Heads of Mission Quarterly meeting, which is attended by the High Commissioner for Jamaica, H.E. Seth G. Ramocan, and chaired by the relevant Minister from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, receive updates on the Windrush Compensation Scheme and wider Windrush issues. Windrush Compensation Scheme statistics are also shared with Caribbean officials on a monthly basis to ensure they have the latest information on the Scheme.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her letter provided to the Home Affairs Committee on 28 April 2020, what percentage of requests for an Urgent and Exceptional Payment submitted from 1 October 2018 up to 31 August 2021 were concluded within ten working days of receipt.
Answered by Priti Patel
In December 2018, the Home Office established an Urgent and Exceptional Payments process for those members of the Windrush generation who had an urgent and exceptional need in advance of the Windrush Compensation Scheme. The process remains open for those who need it.
191 requests were received from 1 October 2018 up to 31 August 2021. 10% of these requests were decided within 10 working days of receipt. We treat requests for urgent and exceptional support as a high priority and aim to advise applicants of the outcome of their request within 10 working days, and sooner wherever possible. In addition, we aim to make payments within 14 days of a request for support.
Unfortunately, however, it is not always possible to make a decision within 10 days of a request for support, as we need to work with individuals in order to understand the reasons for their request and gather relevant information. Our support in Urgent and Exceptional Circumstances policy was updated in February 2021, in order to make clear to applicants the information that they can provide in order to help us to consider a request as quickly as possible.
We recommend that individuals consider the guide before making a request to us, and if possible, locate any relevant documents ready to share with the Help Team.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
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.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
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
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
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
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.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
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.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
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.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to expedite compensation for those people affected by the Windrush scandal.
Answered by Priti Patel
Since April 2019 the Scheme has offered or paid more than £32.4 million in compensation to members of the Windrush generation. On 24 June the Home Office published the latest set of data on the Scheme which covers the period to the end of May 2021. During the month of May, the Home Office paid out £3.9 million in compensation and more than £24.4 million in compensation has been paid across 732 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 seven times the total amount paid previously.
However, we recognise we still have more to do to speed up the processing of claims and are committed to reducing the time between submission and decision significantly over the coming months. To do this we are, amongst other things, recruiting more case workers, directing resources to where they are needed most to maximise final decision output and refining our processes so cases progress as quickly as possible. We are also improving the evidence gathering process, for instance by revising our data sharing agreements with other government departments.