Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 21
21
Accepted
Paragraph: 68
Unacceptable delays in Windrush grassroots campaigns stalled trust building.
Conclusion
Whilst the Home Office’s grassroots campaign and the launch of the Windrush Community Fund are welcome, it is unacceptable that they took so long to get off the ground and didn’t even start providing funds for community projects until two years after the compensation scheme opened. As a result of those unexplained delays, nearly four years on from the Windrush scandal many people are still too fearful of the Home Office to apply for the Windrush schemes and have yet to be reassured that engaging with the Department on compensation will not leave them vulnerable to Immigration Enforcement. Rebuilding trust through community and grassroots networks should have been an urgent priority once the scheme had launched; instead, the delays that have become characteristic of the Home Office’s work on Windrush have significantly stalled progress on outreach too.
Government Response Summary
The government response outlines the existing support provided by "We Are Digital" for claimants, detailing how they are encouraged to offer flexible appointment times and how their service is quality assured. It emphasizes the scheme's design for accessibility without legal assistance.
Paragraph Reference:
68
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We Are Digital are encouraged to offer additional sessions beyond the 3-hour appointment time subject to the claimants needs. They are also encouraged to use their time with the claimants in the best interest of the claimant, for example chunking up the time into shorter slots should claimants require a break or find the discussion particularly distressing. The process to increase the appointment time is a referral to the Windrush Compensation Team. The referral is not to approve or reject the additional time but to ensure that payment is audited. We quality assure the claimant assistance support and also receive customer feedback from our claim assistance provider. This feedback enables us to ensure any gaps in support are identified. The Windrush Compensation Scheme is open to all and has been designed to be as clear and simple as possible, so people do not need legal assistance to make a claim.