14 May Over £26 Million Compensation Paid or Offered to Members of the Windrush Generation
Friday, 14 May 2021
Over £26 million compensation paid or offered to members of the Windrush generation
Phase Two of the Windrush Community Fund now open for bids
As the advocacy for Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, Voice4Change England (V4CE) was pleased to work with the Home Office to administer the government’s Windrush Community Fund, in which community and grassroots organisations can bid for up to £25,000 in support for building awareness and engagement with the Windrush Scheme and Windrush Compensation Scheme.
The Windrush Compensation Scheme has now paid out over £14 million in compensation and has offered a further £12 million since it began, Home Secretary Priti Patel announced today (Friday, 14th May).
More than £8 million was paid in compensation to members of the Windrush generation in March – more than doubling the amount that had been paid in the 20 months since the Scheme was launched in April 2019.
Home Secretary, Priti Patel said:
“The Windrush generation were repeatedly failed by successive Governments and faced appalling treatment.
“I have always said that I will listen and act to help those who suffered terrible injustices, and have been resolute in my determination to make sure they are fairly compensated.
“I overhauled the scheme last year, and I am pleased to see we have now paid £14.3 million in compensation. These changes are already having a real impact on people’s lives, with significantly more money being paid more quickly.”
Home Office statistics published on 14th May also show that to the end of March 2021, the Home Office had paid £14.3 million to 633 people.
This substantial increase in compensation payments has been driven by significant changes which were made to the Scheme in December. The changes to the Scheme meant that individuals affected by Windrush now receive a minimum of £10,000 compensation through the Impact on Life category once their claim has been approved – 40 times greater than the previous minimum award available.
Of the £14.3 million that has been paid in compensation, £12.3 million (81%) was paid to claimants following the changes made to the Scheme in December.
The Home Office has now also awarded the first round of grants from the Windrush Community Fund, helping grassroots groups and organisations to make sure that all people affected by Windrush are aware of the support available through the Windrush Compensation Scheme and Windrush Scheme.
Following a competitive bidding round, 14 charities and grassroot organisations across the UK have been awarded grants between £2,500 to £25,000 to support them in delivering projects to ensure affected Windrush communities are aware of the support and compensation available to them.
The Home Office fund has been designed with the Windrush Cross-Government Working Group and is administered and managed by Voice4Change England, a charity that works with a large number of Black, Asian and minority ethnic community groups and partners across the UK. V4CE has no role or connection with the Windrush Scheme or Windrush Compensation Scheme but is focused on assisting community groups who apply for the fund. Final decisions on funding are made by the Windrush Cross-Government Working Group and the Home Office.
Phase two of the Windrush Community Fund is now open for bids from further organisations until 30 June.
The Government has taken a number of steps to right the wrongs that the Windrush Generation faced, which includes issuing 12,500 people with documentation confirming their status or British citizenship free of charge under the Windrush Scheme.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
To the end of March 2021:
- More than £14.2m in compensation has been paid across 633 claims.
- A further £12.3m has been offered in compensation, awaiting acceptance or pending review.
- More than £26m has been paid or offered in compensation awards.
- We had made 798 referrals to our claimant assistance provider
- 218 compensation claims have gone to a Tier 1 review. Of these, 145 have had an outcome. And 40 claims have gone to a Tier 2 review, with 11 concluded.