Windrush Day 2022
More than four years since the Windrush scandal was brought to light, we are concerned that, far from righting the wrongs caused to thousands, seeing the ‘face behind the case’ or transforming itself into a more compassionate institution, the Home Office is instead doubling down on a hostile and punitive policy agenda that continues to destroy lives.
Despite the Home Secretary’s claims of progress, a recent review carried out by Wendy Williams of the Government’s 30 commitments to change was damning, with only 8 out of 30 commitments fully delivered. Williams highlighted a lack of leadership on culture change at the highest levels of the Department as a particular concern.
Many of the specific measures put in place to right the wrongs of the Windrush scandal are still falling woefully short. The compensation scheme is too complex for many to access, while payouts are slow and not proportionate to the harm caused. Lack of free legal advice means that, in practice, the scheme is still inaccessible for most.
Official figures from the Windrush Compensation Scheme starkly demonstrate the Government’s failure to right the wrongs caused by years of policy making without regard for the impact on individuals:
Of the 15,000 compensation claims expected by Government, less than 7% have actually been made;
Close to three quarters of those who have managed to claim compensation since 2019 are yet to receive a single penny.
The Government’s latest policy proposals - criminalizing people seeking safety in the UK and transporting them to Rwanda, demonstrates that the Home Office all too often fails to see people as human beings.
Sally Daghlian OBE, CEO of Praxis, said:
On Windrush Day 2022, it’s difficult to find much to celebrate. Four years since the Windrush scandal first came to light, the Government is failing on its commitments to change, as the independent reviewer’s latest report highlights.
Despite lives being wrecked and thousands of people being driven into poverty and destitution by the Government’s actions, only a tiny number of people have been able to make a claim for compensation and the fact that only a quarter of those who have managed to make a claim have actually received a payment makes a mockery of the Government’s commitment to right the enormous wrong it caused to thousands.
The Windrush compensation scheme is overly complicated and poorly advertised, seemingly designed to make it difficult to claim. What’s urgently needed is a fair, accessible, independently-administered compensation scheme, and a real plan to make sure everyone who is entitled to recompense knows how to get it and has help to do so.
Despite the Home Secretary’s claims that her Department has become more compassionate, the Home Office’s latest policies demonstrate conclusively that this is not the case, as they seek to criminalise people for seeking safety in the UK and trade cash for humans with Rwanda.
Joseph, a campaigner at Praxis with lived experience of the migration system, said:
The Home Office has not improved its policies since the Windrush scandal came to light – if anything it’s the opposite, everything is still as hostile as it has always been.
It’s a slap in the face of migrants – on the one hand you show a veneer of compassion to migrants through the establishment of the Windrush Day; on the other hand you make draconian policies that are harmful and detrimental to the lives of people who have chosen to make the UK their home, and who are contributing to this society and to the UK at large.
If the Home Office really wants to celebrate us, it needs to scrap harmful policies such as deporting people to Rwanda or No Recourse to Public Funds as a matter of urgency.
Instead of pushing ever more harmful policies, the department should create an environment that is truly welcoming to migrants who have chosen the UK as their home and are dedicating their lives to this country.