Windrush claimants still waiting for compensation
Fewer than 40 people of 1,000 claimants have received Windrush compensation, 10 months after the scheme’s launch, the Home Office has revealed.
A two-year extension to the claims deadline, until April 2023, has been announced in response to the lack of progress.
The Home Office has paid out a total of just £62,198 to 36 people so far – just over three per cent of claimants – out of a compensation pot that may rise to £600million.
Many people claimants have lost jobs and homes, were denied benefits or healthcare, and were detained or deported as a result of the government’s “hostile environment” created by then-Home Secretary Theresa May.
The government apologised for the mistake in April 2018 – and the Home Office confirmed this week that 12,000 people have been provided with documentation confirming their status so far.
One claimant won £100,000. Many payments made so far are interim payments, which means people will likely receive more at a later date.
The home secretary, Priti Patel, said: “By listening to feedback from community leaders and those affected, we have begun to put right the wrongs caused to a generation who have contributed so much to our country.
“The Windrush Compensation Scheme has been developed to ease the burden from the unacceptable mistreatment some have faced, which is why it is so important that people continue to come forward.”
Streatham MP Bell Rebeiro-Addy, the shadow immigration minister, said it was disappointing that so few people have received payments. “It is good that the scheme has been extended but there are people who are still destitute after what happened to them. They need to access support quickly.”
The Commonwealth Citizens’ Taskforce and the Windrush Compensation Scheme are now running a series of online engagement events, to ensure those affected continue to claim.
The Home Office will shortly launch a separate £500k fund for grassroots organisations to promote the Windrush Schemes and provide advice services.
Anyone unhappy with their offer can request a free internal review. If they still do not agree with the outcome, the claimant can request a further review the Independent Adjudicator.
The criteria by which cash settlements are made has been altered to take a wider range of circumstances into account – for example, claimants no longer have to show they took immediate steps to resolve their immigration status.
Citizens Advice, funded by the Home Office, are continuing to provide free, independent claimant assistance during the pandemic for those wishing to apply to the Compensation Scheme. This can be accessed by referral through the Windrush Helpline: 0800 678 1925.
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Been waiting for my claim to be processed for over a year now and the worst part is they say that the help line is there to help well its not its there to tell you that they have received your claim but because they do not have access to it they cannot discuss it with you and the person who makes a decision cannot be be spoke to by the claimants. There are many things in this article which is untrue and the fact that they write it like they are doing everything in their efforts to right the wrongs is not true and the fact that they are not listening to us makes it even more frustrating and as a victim, its not nice to read alot of lies when living in it is nothing as they have described its no different to when we where trying to prove our status in this country the compensation has been described and it truly is just another hostile environment to deal with. This is the only compensation where they clearly can see they have done you wrong they have your file and yet the onus is on the applicant to prove that what they are saying is true and while to some people this is the way it should be. please understand that even when you supply the evidence which is undeniable and check able for authenticity as l have sen them they have still required that l find more supporting evidence yet the evidence is clear and precise that they already have. this is my experience and so l know for a fact that the way the scheme has been described does not fit the facts of how an applicant to the scheme is treated. Its an utter disgrace and as of tomorrow l have been waiting for 11 months. as l said already they have all the evidence from the last ten years of how my life has been affected and yet it has still taken them almost a year or could be more as l am still waiting for a decision, to make a decision, instead l receive a phone call telling me that they have the claim and the fact that they have paid out just interim payments shows once again how we have been treated in a second class way. This is just a tip of the iceberg, another frustrating fact is the media is not listening to the victims instead they listen to the home office making excuses to why they have paid less than 3% of claimants. Lets not forget the fact that home office was given 4 million pounds to train a new taskforce team and to make sure our claims where dealt with fast and swiftly as they were so adamant they wanted to put right the wrong we had suffered. We are still suffering and almost 3 years after the story broke of the hostile environment the best they have to say is we have paid less than 3% and they claim it like it something they should be proud off yet we continue to suffer and to live our lives in the hardship caused by the hostile environment and the fact they gave us hope in thinking it would all end and now we are in another struggle while some have died and some have still been deported and some are still suffering because like myself not being able to get a job for almost ten years does not mean because you have now given me a bio metric card l can just get a job and my life is now perfect as they have tried to make out from the fact they keep boasting they have given citizenship to 1000s all lies and more lies and yet the media still does not listen to the truth talk to the people like myself who are living in the day to day struggle of the governments mistake