Recommendation 2

The scheme design was too complex and made it difficult for victims to engage with. Many of the difficulties suffered by the Windrush generation were due to insufficient documentation, and yet the Department designed a scheme which demands evidence it acknowledges many claimants do not have. It claims its approach was designed to minimise the evidence required of claimants while also doing enough to be sure that people were eligible for compensation. One area exemplifies the difficulties involved: the Department has made little progress in processing claims where people have died, causing their families further distress. At the time we took evidence, only four out of 132 claims made on behalf of the estate of someone who has died had received payment. More broadly, the Department argues that it tries to strike a balance between simplicity of process while also making the scheme comprehensive but accepts that, in retrospect, it could have done things differently at the beginning. Not administering the scheme effectively undermines the Department’s perceived commitment to righting the wrongs suffered by the Windrush generation and the ambition of its transformation programme. Recommendation: The Department should identify aspects of the claims process which are not working as effectively as they should, for example helping to remove logistical barriers from estate claims, and set out in the Treasury Minute response: • what training and other practical steps it will take to equip caseworkers to act effectively and compassionately; • the changes it plans to make to simplify, improve and made the scheme demonstrably more efficient • how it will measure if it is achieving its intended outcomes. 6 Windrush Compensation Scheme