The full compensation scheme, which must recognise both financial loss and emotional distress, should be established as soon as possible and payments made by the end of the year.
This is according to the July 2018 report from the Home Affairs Committee on Windrush.
The report finds:
- Thousands of people have been affected and denied their rights – with 8,000 referrals to the taskforce, and over 2,000 documents confirming status issued so far
- The Windrush generation was caught up by a series of different policy, cultural and organisational changes in the Home Office. These include the removal of Home Office caseworker discretion, the use of targets, restrictions on independent checks and appeals, stronger controls at the border and a raft of laws collectively known as the ‘hostile’ or, more recently, the ‘compliant’ environment
- A change in culture at the Home Office over recent years as a consequence of political decisions has led to an environment in which applicants appear to have been automatically treated with suspicion and scepticism and forced to follow processes that appear designed to set them up to fail.
The report reccommends:
- There remain too many unanswered questions. Home Office should reveal how many people have been unlawfully subject to deportation, detention and reporting requirements and the extent to which post 1973 arrivals, children and grandchildren have been affected
- Home Office should guarantee that no-one from the Windrush generation or their descendants are currently subject to reporting requirements
- Passport fees should be waived for Windrush cases
- The compensation scheme must recognise emotional distress as well as financial harm, and must be open to Windrush children and grandchildren who were affected
- A hardship fund should be established immediately for those in acute financial difficulty.
