Policy background
- The Windrush Compensation Scheme was launched on 3 April 2019. It is intended to provide redress for certain losses and detriment experienced by those who came to the UK legally many years ago and are entitled to live and work here, but who were unable to evidence those rights. This inability to evidence those rights arose primarily from measures put in place over time to tackle illegal immigration and protect taxpayer money. These measures were not intended to have negative impacts on British Citizens or those who are lawfully resident in the UK.
- Measures to tackle illegal immigration and protect taxpayer money were introduced by successive governments over many years, including immigration enforcement powers and measures on access to work, benefits and services. The first NHS treatment charges for overseas visitors and illegal migrants were introduced in 1982. Right to work checks were first introduced in 1997, measures on access to benefits in 1999, civil penalties for employing illegal migrants in 2008, and the most recent measures in the Immigration Acts of 2014 and 2016 introduced checks by landlords before property is rented and checks by banks on account holders. Although these measures were designed to tackle illegal migration, they have had an unintended and sometimes devastating impact on people residing in the United Kingdom legally yet who have struggled to get the documentation to prove their status. Those most affected are often referred to as the ‘Windrush generation’ (in reference to the ‘Empire Windrush’, one of the first ships that brought men and women from the Caribbean to the United Kingdom in 1948, in response to labour shortages following the Second World War).
- The Government has taken a number of steps to give redress to those members of the Windrush generation who have been affected. On 10 May 2018, the Government launched a ‘call for evidence’ from members of the Windrush generation, followed on 19 July 2018 by a consultation process that ran until 16 November 2018. The responses to the call for evidence and the consultation influenced the design of the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
- Almost everyone originally from a Commonwealth country who arrived before 1 January 1973 is included in the eligibility criteria for the Scheme, which can be viewed online at www.gov.uk/guidance/windrush-compensation-scheme
. Those who are lawfully in the United Kingdom (or are now a British citizen) and arrived to live in the UK on or before 31 December 1988 will also be eligible to apply regardless of nationality on arrival - even if not a Commonwealth citizen. The scheme is also open to (i) children and grandchildren of Commonwealth citizens in certain circumstances; (ii) the estates of those who are now deceased but who would have otherwise been eligible to claim compensation; and, (iii) close family members of eligible claimants, where there has been a significant impact on their life or where there is evidence of certain direct financial costs.
- The scheme is open to claims until 2 April 2023, with the possibility of extension. Government expenditure needs to meet the expectations of financial regularity in relation to the 1932 Concordat and Managing Public Money 1. This Act ensures awards made under the scheme meet those expectations. It does not make any changes to the operation of the scheme. The Secretary of State for the Home Office already has powers under common law to make awards under the scheme, which derive from the Crown’s status as a corporation possessing legal personality under long established principles for the conduct of government business.
- The Home Office first published information on the operation of the scheme, including on the number of claims submitted, the number of claims paid, and the overall amount paid under the scheme, on 27 February 2020. That information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-compensation-scheme-data-february-2020 . The Home Office will continue to publish this data on a quarterly basis.
1 The 1932 Concordat is an agreement, made by way of correspondence and minute between the Public Accounts Committee and HM Treasury, that departments would not spend without adequate authorities in place. Where this concerns continuing functions, particularly functions expected to extend beyond a year, it is normally the case that those powers and duties to be exercised will be defined by a specific statute. Further information can be found online at Annex 2.3 of Managing Public Money at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/742189/Managing_Public_Money__MPM__with_annexes_2018.pdf.
