Key Facts

• Amendments aim to modify the Windrush Compensation Scheme before funding by Parliament.
• New clause requires moving the Windrush Compensation Scheme’s operation from the Home Office within two months of Act passage.
• Multiple new clauses proposed include consultation on application process, no time limits for applications, public consultation on scheme limits and costs, legal assistance reimbursement, modification to restrictions on compensation payment, standard of proof requirements, and appeal rights.
• Amendments 1 and 2 are paving amendments allowing for new clauses 1 to 8.
• New clause 1 calls for an independent body to run the compensation scheme rather than the Home Office.
• New clause 8 proposes a proper independent appeal process through a tribunal system.
• New clauses 2 and 4 encourage continued consultation on the scheme’s restrictions and caps.
• New clause 5 calls for reimbursement of legal support costs for making applications.
• New clause 3 suggests removing the time limit for compensation claims.
• New clause 6 challenges restrictions based on criminal records or contact with the Home Office.
• New clause 7 seeks to rectify the standard of proof guidance in the scheme.
• The Windrush compensation scheme has only received 1,108 claims since April 2019.
• Only £62,198 has been paid out to 36 people.
• Abbott proposes a national campaign for outreach similar to the EU settlement scheme.
• The Windrush Compensation Scheme is extended to April 2023.
• A £500,000 fund has been established for grassroots organisations to promote the scheme.
• There are 13 categories under which people can claim compensation.
• An independent review process through the Adjudicator’s Office is in place.
• The compensation team works with claimants using HMRC data on past employment.
• New guidance was published on 5 March addressing changes in mitigation policy.
• Individuals are no longer required to show immediate steps were taken to resolve their status issues.
• Caseworkers make decisions based on the balance of probabilities for tariff-based awards.
• Windrush Compensation Scheme includes Commonwealth citizens who settled or had the right of abode before January 1973.
• The scheme also covers individuals who arrived by December 1988 and are lawfully in the UK or now British citizens.
• Awards range from £250 up to £10,000 for profound and irreversible impact on claimants.
• The constituency of Dulwich and West Norwood has a strong connection to Windrush, with about 200 passengers from the original Empire Windrush arriving there.
• Many members of the Windrush generation still work at King’s College Hospital in Brixton.
• The compensation scheme form is complicated and difficult for victims to fill out comprehensively.
• Diane Abbott supports the Bill in principle but highlights concerns about the lack of a proper debate on the lessons learned review.
• Patrick Vernon is mentioned as a notable community campaigner for Windrush compensation.
• Martin Forde, QC, serves as the independent adviser for the compensation scheme.