To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to celebrate the 80th anniversary in 2028 of HMT Empire Windrush arriving at Tilbury Docks, and to recognise the significant contribution the Caribbean community has made to Britain.
My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Baroness for tabling this Question and for her leadership in championing Windrush recognition. The 80th anniversary of the arrival of the “Empire Windrush” will be a significant national milestone. The Government will work with communities to mark Windrush 80 with care, respect and pride, acknowledging past injustices while marking a moment of reflection, learning and pride in a legacy we must cherish, recognise and pass on. The noble Baroness will know that we are already working on a project with the railway industry to reflect the Windrush journey and its enduring contribution to modern Britain
I thank the Minister for that Answer. My Lords, I am so proud to be part of the Windrush generation who, like thousands of Caribbeans, have played and continue to play a part in British society, despite having faced hostility and rejection. It is great to hear that the Windrush Day scheme provides grants for local activities in recognition of their resilience and celebrates their invaluable contribution to Britain. However, the 80th anniversary in 2028 of the arrival of the “Empire Windrush” is a significant milestone which deserves far greater recognition to clearly define the occasion’s identity and the scale of its importance to modern British history. Will the Government consider providing additional funds for signature events for the whole country to recognise and show appreciation of the contribution made to the UK by the Windrush generation and really push the boat out, if you will excuse the pun? I am happy to meet the Minister to discuss this further.
The noble Baroness’s energy for this subject is well recognised and welcomed across the House, and I celebrate and support what she does. One of my very closest friends, who has sadly now passed away, was part of the second generation; her family came from Trinidad. I knew this lady from junior school, so all through my life I have been hearing these fabulous stories of the Windrush generation. The Windrush generation and their descendants have made a very profound contribution to Britain, helping rebuild the country after the Second World War and playing a central role in shaping the NHS, public services and national infrastructure. As the noble Baroness said, it is a story of resilience and contribution, reflecting both the hardships people faced and the barriers they overcame.
The noble Baroness asked a very important question about funding. The Government are looking very carefully at the programme for funding. We need to make sure that it is funded properly, but it would not be right to pre-empt the decisions on funding before we have spoken very carefully to the steering committee that is working on this and will be making sure that we mark this in a way that is relevant for the community. Once we have done that, we will be able to put some costs against it, and the Government are determined to make sure that we recognise it properly.
My Lords, as we approach this significant anniversary, can my noble friend the Minister update the House on the progress in delivering the Windrush compensation scheme? What is being done to speed up the claims, especially of elderly applicants?
My noble friend is quite right to raise this issue. As of January 2025, over £124 million had been paid across to 3,866 Windrush compensation scheme claims, and 94% of claims have now received a final decision. We remain committed to improving the compensation scheme to make sure that it reflects the lived experience of individuals. In response to feedback from the Windrush commissioner, communities and claimants, significant policy improvements were announced in October last year and implemented in January this year.
My Lords, it is right that we recognise the contributions of the Windrush generation to our country. The previous Government introduced the largest Windrush grant scheme to support charities, local authorities and community groups across the UK. However, we must ensure that these applicants genuinely intend to benefit the communities. Can the Minister clarify whether, under this scheme, grants have ever been awarded to the Muslim Council of Britain?
I know that the grant system that the noble Baroness spoke about has designated around 700 lasting assets, from books and exhibitions to films, educational resources and help for communities to commemorate, learn and come together. I will respond in writing to her question about the Muslim organisation.
I strongly support what the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, said. Will there be some national recognition of what those who came over on “Windrush” have done for this country?
The answer to the noble and learned Baroness’s question is that the specific projects for Windrush 80 will be confirmed in due course. We are having further discussion across government and with the Windrush 80 steering committee. Whatever the legacy will be, it is critical that it is designed by the community. The Government are clear that Windrush 80 should leave a legacy that endures beyond 2028. I hope that answers her question.
My Lords, I pay tribute to my noble friend for campaigning on this issue. Yesterday, with her, I had the privilege of meeting victims of the Windrush scandal at a round table. Notwithstanding the Minister’s comments about improvements to the compensation scheme, we heard that families are still struggling with an overly bureaucratic system and a lack of available legal support. If the Minister, with Home Office colleagues, will meet my noble friend, can we ensure that one of the ways of recognising the anniversary will be to ensure that, at that point, there are no longer any outstanding claimants to receive the justice that they deserve?
I think what we all want to see is that the claimants’ claims are processed quickly and in the most straightforward way possible. I am very happy to meet the group that the noble Lord met yesterday. It is clear that compensation cannot undo the harm that was caused, but the Government remain committed to improving the Windrush compensation scheme to ensure that it reflects the lived experiences of communities and that it can be accessed simply and in a straightforward manner. The fact that 94% of claims have been dealt with now shows some progress in this area.
My Lords, given the fact that Windrush 80 is a massive opportunity for the Government to continue to welcome people from my community—I am second generation—what work are they doing to make sure that young people are seeing this celebration as an opportunity to lean into their Britishness and not be portrayed as other? We are British, we are proud of being British and we want the Government to acknowledge that in these celebrations.
The noble Lord is quite right to say that the important thing in all this is that we recognise the contribution of both the Windrush generation and the second generation in designing whatever the legacy of Windrush 80 is going to be. As he rightly suggests, that should include young people who are the descendants of the Windrush generation. I hope that significant work will be done with the steering committee to make sure that that happens and that it is the community that designs the lasting legacy.
My Lords, I am very much in favour of these positive remarks, but please remember why we are making them and why we are having this discussion. In my time at the National Audit Office, we examined the treatment that many of the Windrush generation had, which cannot be described as anything but disgraceful, and we cannot forget that. We treated those people whom we asked to come to live in our country disgracefully, and we have taken a very long time, in my view, to put that even vaguely right.