Windrush Compensation Scheme

Question

Asked by

To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to tackle inconsistent decision-making for victims under the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

My Lords, up to March 2026 more than £127 million has been paid out by the Government following claims. All claims are considered individually against the published rules. Caseworkers receive comprehensive training and decisions are subject to robust quality assurance. Anybody who is unhappy about the outcome of their claim can access a free review process, including review by an independent adjudicator, and we use feedback to continuously improve decision-making.

I thank the Minister for his Answer, but Windrush victims have raised serious ongoing issues around inconsistent decision-making within the compensation scheme, even between siblings, including misinterpretation of evidence, inadequate support and lack of independence. The continued use of the term “immigrants” to describe those affected, rather than recognising them as British nationals, has wider implications for how cases are understood and handled, and undervalues the non-financial harms and loss of opportunities and security. The scheme is too complex for unrepresented applicants, who are undercompensated compared with claimants with lawyers, who receive much higher awards—£11,400 compared with £83,200 for the same claim. Could more funding be directed towards legal support, as with other state compensation schemes, to clear up this shocking injustice? Is the Windrush commissioner, who is supposed to be supporting Windrush victims, aware of these concerns?

I am grateful to the noble Baroness. First, the Windrush commissioner is in regular engagement and discussion with Ministers around issues of concern, and since January 2026 we have made some significant changes to the scheme as a result of representations from the commissioner. The noble Baroness mentions legal representation. We have a dedicated helpline. We give claim form guidance. We have free practical support for claimants’ assistance. We have put £1.5 million into a free advocacy support system. We also have limited legal support of up to £1,500 to obtain probate to submit a claim as a representative of a Windrush claimant’s estate. They are British citizens and they deserve our support. We want to ensure that we have a fair and equitable system, and I will happily take representations from the noble Baroness on any issues if she feels there are concerns.

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, commented that people who come with legal representation get higher and better awards. Does the Minister know why this is and, if he does not, can he look into why people with legal representation are getting much better awards? Surely the system should be defending those who are the most vulnerable and cannot get that representation.

The two factors may not necessarily be similar. There may be individuals who engage legal support and end up getting the claim they would have had anyway, whether they had that support or not. The scheme was designed not to have necessarily a barrier of legal representation; that is why we have put in help and support for claimants, but legal representation is not required. We are looking at all times at how we can simplify the scheme, but I caution the noble Lord against presuming that legal representation in this case means a higher claim. It may be that the claim was justified in the first place, as we view all claims on an individual basis for each claimant.

There has been much commentary on the relatively high rejection rates for the Windrush compensation scheme. Subsequently, there have been calls for the Home Office to relax its criteria. It is of course imperative that the scheme is not open to exploitation and that compensation is paid only to those who are genuinely eligible. Can the Minister confirm that the Government will ensure that the criteria the Home Office uses will remain robust and fair, and applied consistently and equitably to all applicants?

Yes, I can, I hope, assure the noble Lord on that. As I said to the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, the Government made a number of changes in January 2026 to try to improve the scheme and make sure that people still have access to it in a simpler way. Those changes have also meant, as I said in earlier answers, that 94% of all claims have reached a final decision. We have speeded up the claims from taking four months in 2024 to less than six weeks now. On where there are appeals on those claims and reviews asked for, there have been, for example, 2,656 requests for review of tier 1 decisions, 504 of which resulted in a change of the claim. On tier 2 applications there have been 747 requests, of which 116 resulted in changes, so there is, I hope, a fair and equitable scheme. We want to see people applying for the scheme. We continue to receive around 140 claims a month and there is no end date to the scheme, so we want to make sure that people get the compensation they deserve.

Have the Government actually conducted any research into whether unrepresented claimants receive lower awards than represented claimants, and if so why, to address the concern of the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin?

I cannot say to the noble Lord that we have undertaken that research, but I am happy to look at the point he mentions. The key point is that the scheme is designed to be simple. Support is available through a free helpline, and there is now a high level of speedy turnarounds and completed claims, at 94%. I will certainly look at whether there is a factual basis for it; I was simply making the point, to both noble Lords who have spoken and to the noble Baroness, that there may not be a correlation between legal representation and claim because all claims are judged on their individual circumstances.

My Lords, I want to ask the Minister about data collection, because so many people are passing away before their claims are even looked at. Does he have any data to show how many people have passed away before being able to have their claims addressed?

I probably have figures for my noble friend, and I will write to her with the specific figures. The key point is that we are now, as part of the prioritisation, looking at claimants aged over 75 and those with conditions that are critical or life shortening so we can ensure that those who are potentially in danger of passing before a claim is completed have that claim speedily processed.

My Lords, victims of state problems such as the Post Office Horizon scandal and the infected blood scandal have been given fully funded, independent legal support. What makes this so different that there is no equity for these people?

The scheme was designed to be speedily executed and to ensure that we give dedicated support. We have a dedicated helpline, claim form guidance, free advocacy support, a £1.5 million Windrush compensation advocacy support scheme and legal support for those submitting a claim, as my noble friend Lady Lawrence mentioned, for those who have sadly died. That is the way in which we are trying to do this. The fact that we have paid out £127 million to date shows the Government’s commitment to ensure that those who deserve payments get payments.

Can the Minister say something about the training that those who have to administer the scheme receive? Proper training would be one way of ensuring that equality of treatment is achieved across the board.

Absolutely. Staff undertake a rigorous training programme that provides a holistic view of the scheme and includes a module on the history of the scandal. It includes clips of people from the Windrush generation, as well as case studies, to provide insights into the way in which individuals have been affected. It also focuses on important skills, such as telephony skills and communication. Staff regularly deal with vulnerable people and have the ability to pass on particular areas of concern to organisations such as the Samaritans if there is a requirement because of other potential issues. All staff undertake a mandatory “face behind the case” training course, and we are committed to learning the lessons from the scandal to ensure our caseworkers are both empathetic and fully trained.

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, referred to a worrying thing, if it is true. The Windrush generation are still being referred to as immigrants, not as British citizens. Can the Minister confirm whether that is happening? If it is, we all ought to be concerned.