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, pursuant to her Answer of 15 April 2021 to Question 179171, on Windrush Generation: Compensation, if she will estimate 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 21 April are 1417. Of these 1417 cases:
Windrush Compensation Scheme staff continue to work hard to resolve these claims from the moment they are received and individuals are provided with an update on the progress of their claim on a monthly basis as a minimum, unless they have requested otherwise. A case is finally closed when an individual accepts a final offer or an application to the Scheme is unsuccessful as it does not meet the criteria. All 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, including these open applications. 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 of these people may also have received an urgent and exceptional payment. This policy remains available for those who have an urgent and exceptional need that cannot wait for a payment to be made under the Windrush Compensation Scheme. As of 25 March 2021, the Scheme had offered 362 preliminary awards (totalling £3,620,000); of which 255 (£2,550,000) had been accepted. 228 awards (£2,280,000) had been paid.
That said, each person’s claim is deeply personal and requires careful and detailed consideration to understand their individual circumstances and experiences. There are 13 different categories of claim and some individuals’ experiences are more complex than others and it is right we take the time to ensure these are considered carefully. We want people to receive the maximum compensation to which they are entitled and work closely with individuals, for example by contacting other government departments and third parties to help gather evidence to support their claim.
This holistic approach necessarily takes time but is ultimately beneficial to individuals.
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-march-2021.
Since April 2019 the Scheme has paid or offered £18 million. Of this, more than £6.1 million have been accepted and paid, an increase of £2 million in one month.
We have made fundamental improvements to the Scheme to ensure people receive significantly more money, more quickly. We increased the value of awards for impact on life at every level so everyone will be paid more in this category, with the maximum award increasing from £10,000 to £100,000 (with options for even higher awards in exceptional circumstances).
Within six weeks of these changes, we had offered more than we had in the first 19 months of the scheme (at the end of January we had offered £12m) and since the end of December we have more than doubled the amount of compensation paid to individuals (from £2.8m to £6.1m).
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. The total value of the payments approved as of 29 March 2021 is £104,338.58.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2021 to Question 179170 on Windrush Generation: Compensation, notwithstanding that her Department does not routinely publish the information requested, how many applicants to the Windrush Compensation Scheme her Department is aware of who have died in the period between applying for and receiving compensation under that scheme.
Answered by Priti Patel
It is very regrettable that a claimant passes away before a compensation award can be made or an apology sent to them.
The Windrush Compensation Scheme staff are working hard to ensure that where they are aware of claimants with critical or life shortening illnesses, that their cases are prioritised.
In the deeply 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 that family member.
Out of the 1,996 applications made to the Windrush Compensation Scheme, we are aware of 21 cases to date where unfortunately the claimant has passed away after having submitted a claim but before receiving compensation. We are working closely with the families and legal representatives to determine the right person to whom the compensation can be paid as quickly as possible.
It must be noted that this data is manually recorded and is reliant on the person receiving the information on an applicant notifying the Windrush Compensation Scheme to record this information. The data isn’t recorded in a reportable field in the casework system.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Windrush Compensation Scheme, what criteria her Department uses to determine the effect of the Windrush scandal on the lives of the claimants to that scheme.
Answered by Priti Patel
The Windrush Compensation Scheme awards compensation in thirteen different categories covering a range of impacts to individuals’ lives. Compensation claims are determined in accordance with the scheme rules, which are available on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-compensation-scheme-full-rules
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provision has been made in the Windrush Compensation Scheme for claimants who die before their claim under that scheme is fully settled.
Answered by Priti Patel
Where individuals sadly pass away before their claim under the Windrush Compensation Scheme is fully determined and paid, the Home Office will work with their families to ensure compensation is still paid out.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many claims to the Windrush Compensation Scheme from residents living in (a) Lewisham Deptford constituency, (b) London and (c) the UK have been fully settled.
Answered by Priti Patel
The nationality and country of residence of applicants 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-march-2021.
We do not currently record data in a way which allows us to report on the location of applicants in the UK.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her October 2019 report to the Home Affairs Select Committee on the Windrush scandal, how many of the families of the 14 Commonwealth citizens who died after having been removed from the UK by her Department since 2002 have applied for compensation under the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Priti Patel
Representatives of the estate of affected individuals who have sadly passed away can claim compensation. Close family members of an eligible primary claimant, including in cases where the primary claimant has died, can also make a claim for compensation in their own right. Guidance and claim forms are available on GOV.UK.
The specific information requested on the number of Windrush Scheme overseas applicants who had passed away before the application process was completed is not included in statistical data published by the Home Office.
The Home Secretary provides updates to the Home Affairs Select Committee on the work of the department in connection with Windrush.
The updates can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/correspondence-on-the-work-of-the-home-office-windrush.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of claims to the Windrush Compensation Scheme from residents living in (a) Lewisham Deptford constituency, (b) London and (c) the UK have been considered eligible for a preliminary payment under the terms of that scheme.
Answered by Priti Patel
The nationality and country of residence of applicants 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-march-2021.
We do not currently record data in a way which allows us to report on the location of applicants in the UK.
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, what most recent information her Department holds on the number of people whose applications to the Windrush Compensation Scheme remain outstanding more than (a) two years, (b) 18 months and (c) 12 months after first submitting those applications.
Answered by Priti Patel
Data on the number of claims received and the number of payment 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-march-2021.
Each person’s claim is deeply personal and requires careful and detailed consideration to understand their individual circumstances and experiences. There are thirteen different categories of claim and some individuals’ experiences are more complex than others and it is right we take the time to ensure these are considered carefully. We want people to receive the maximum compensation to which they are entitled and work closely with individuals, for example by contacting other government departments and third parties to help gather evidence to support their claim.
This holistic approach necessarily takes time but is ultimately beneficial to individuals. The average calendar days from the date the claim was received to a Full and Final payment date is 434, as at 31st January 2021.
However, we recognise that we need to go further and faster which is why, following feedback from the Windrush Cross Government Working Group, members of the Windrush generation, community leaders and those affected, we have made fundamental improvements to the Scheme to ensure people receive significantly more money, more quickly. As we continue to make decisions on the oldest cases, we expect to see the time taken from application to final decision fall significantly in the coming months.
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, what most recent information her Department holds on the number of applicants to the Windrush Compensation Scheme who have died in the period between applying for and receiving that compensation.
Answered by Priti Patel
Representatives of the estate of affected individuals who have sadly passed away can claim compensation. Close family members of an eligible primary claimant, including in cases where the primary claimant has died, can also make a claim for compensation in their own right. Guidance and claim forms are available on GOV.UK
The specific information requested on the number of Windrush Scheme overseas applicants who had passed away before the application process was completed is not included in statistical data published by the Home Office.
The Home Secretary provides updates to the Home Affairs Select Committee on the work of the department in connection with Windrush.
The updates can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/correspondence-on-the-work-of-the-home-office-windrush.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average timescale is for processing claims to the Windrush Compensation Scheme for people in (a) Lewisham, Deptford constituency, (b) London and (c) the UK.
Answered by Priti Patel
The Home Office does not publish specific data regarding the minimum and maximum awards to date. The information is not readily available in a reportable format and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
However, on the 14th of December the Home Office increased the minimum award under the Impact on Life category to £10,000.
The value of awards for Impact on Life at every level were also increased, with the maximum award increasing from £10,000 to £100,000 (with options for even higher awards in exceptional circumstances).
Data on the number of members of the Windrush generation that reside in Lewisham, Deptford and London is not available. Information relating to individual Windrush migrants is not recorded by constituency.