Recommendation 22

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted

Since 2019, we have offered funding to grassroots organisations to cover their costs in partnering with us to run awareness-raising events. All information on eligibility for this is available at: Windrush: engagement events – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Over 200 public outreach and engagement events have been held across the country, and we continue to hold these events, mostly in partnership with local councils and community organisations. The £500,000 Community Fund, which is aimed at supporting grassroots organisations to promote the Windrush Schemes, was launched as a priority as soon as an independent grant administrator could be secured, and relevant commercial matters dealt with. As well as overseeing the monthly monitoring and support sessions provided by the independent grant administrator, we have also bolstered our own support to community groups by sharing material and information helpful to the groups’ project delivery; continuing to engage with groups directly; and we have also arranged future sessions to continue in our support of community groups. Through our proactive engagement we are seeing our relationships with community groups improve as mutual understanding of our respective objectives grow. We hope to continue building on these relationships to enable us to work together on future projects beyond the lifetime of the Community Fund. Details of the organisations funded under Phase 1 of the Community Fund can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-community-fund-phase-1-projects/ windrush-community-fund-phase-1-projects We continue to look at new ways of working collaboratively with grassroots organisations and community groups, building on their knowledge, insights and trust of their communities, to provide the social interaction needed to raise awareness of the support available to progress applications through the Windrush Schemes, and encourage those who are eligible to come forward and apply.