In September 2020, we set up a Windrush working group to keep track of complaints we received about the Windrush Compensation Scheme (the Compensation Scheme).
All complaints about government departments or agencies must be referred to us via a Member of Parliament. This report looks at some of the 46 complaints people have brought to us about the Compensation Scheme in the last three years. We share their stories of what went wrong and how we helped put things right. We want to encourage others to complain if they have had a negative experience when applying for compensation.
We commissioned research from the Caribbean and African Health Network (CAHN) that suggests people from the Windrush community are less likely to ask for help compared to some other population groups.
“The culture of the Caribbean and African people is to fend for themselves; hence, they do not seek help.”
- CAHN research, May 2024
We are sharing case summaries and guidance to:
- help people who might need to make a complaint about the Compensation Scheme
- help the organisations involved understand the issues people are facing.
The Windrush generation
In June 1948, the ‘Empire Windrush’ ship arrived in Tilbury, Essex carrying hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean. After two devastating world wars, the UK desperately needed workers. The British Nationality Act 1948 gave citizenship to these people, meaning they could live, move freely and work in the UK permanently.
Between the late 1940s and the early 1970s, nearly half a million men, women and children left their homes and answered the call to live and work in the UK. Many took up invitations to work for the newly created NHS as nurses, midwives, cleaners, cooks and porters, or for bus, underground and rail services.
The term ‘Windrush generation’ is used to talk about people who arrived in the UK from British Commonwealth countries (not just the Caribbean) between 1948 and 1973.
When the 1971 Immigration Act came into force from 1 January 1973, the free movement of British subjects ended and Commonwealth citizens arriving in the UK had to follow a different immigration process.
This caused confusion among some people from the Windrush generation who had the right to remain indefinitely. They did not know they had to get official documents confirming their right to live and work in the UK.
The Windrush scandal
The ‘Windrush scandal’ emerged in late 2017. News stories revealed the poor treatment of people who were lawfully living in the UK but did not have any documents to prove their rights. Many were treated as ‘illegal immigrants’ and denied access to vital services. Some were detained and others were deported. These actions were part of the ‘hostile’ or 'compliant’ environment policy set up by the UK Home Office from 2012 onwards to deal with illegal immigration.
In 2018, following increased public and parliamentary pressure and media attention, Prime Minister Theresa May apologised for the mistreatment of Commonwealth citizens.
On 23 April 2018, the then Home Secretary, Amber Rudd made a statement to Parliament, saying “an apology is just the first step we need to take to put right the wrong these people have suffered”. She outlined several actions the Government was taking to address the issues faced by the Windrush generation.
In June 2018, Wendy Williams, then HM Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, was appointed by the Home Office to carry out an independent review looking at the events leading to the Windrush scandal, focusing on events from 2008 onwards.
The Home Office also made commitments to help people affected by setting up:
- the Windrush Scheme to help people apply for the documents they needed to prove their status
- the Windrush Compensation Scheme to make payments to people who had suffered because of not being able to show their lawful right to stay in the UK.
The Windrush Lessons Learned Review
In March 2020, Wendy Williams published her Windrush Lessons Learned Review. This independent review found the Windrush scandal was foreseeable and avoidable. The report made 30 recommendations and highlighted a need for “systemic and cultural change”.
In July 2020, Home Secretary Priti Patel said the actions that led to the Windrush generation’s suffering were an “ugly stain on the face of our country and on the Home Office”. The Home Office accepted all 30 recommendations. It published a Comprehensive Improvement Plan in September 2020, which set out how it would implement them.
In January 2023, Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced the Government was dropping three key recommendations from the review:
- setting up a commissioner responsible for “speaking up for migrants and those affected by the system directly or indirectly”
- giving new powers to the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration
- holding “reconciliation events” with people affected to “listen and reflect on their stories”.
This decision has recently been challenged. In April 2024, the High Court heard a legal claim made by a man affected by the Windrush generation scandal. The claim said the decision to drop these recommendations was institutionally racist (discriminatory) and another example of broken promises made to the Windrush generation. The claim is being supported by the Black Equity Organisation and Unison.
The Windrush Compensation Scheme
The Windrush Compensation Scheme is open to people who:
- came to the UK from a Commonwealth country before 1973
- have parents or grandparents who came to the UK from a Commonwealth country before 1973
- came to the UK from any country before 31 December 1988 and are now settled here
- are a close family member of someone eligible to claim and have had significant losses themselves
- are representing the estate of someone who would have been eligible.
People who apply may be able to get compensation for losses relating to:
- not being able to work or find a place to live
- not being able to access health services, education or banking
- immigration fees, detention or removal from the UK
- daily life and living costs.
Compensation starts at a minimum of £10,000 and can go up to £100,000 or more. There is no limit on the total amount, and no end date for the scheme. To date, just over 7,600 compensation claims have been fully closed with more than £92 million awarded.
Applicants can request a review of the Compensation Scheme’s decision if they are not happy with it. The independent Adjudicator’s Office carries out any review. If applicants are still not happy with the decision, they can ask their MP to refer the complaint to us. For more information about who can apply and how to do so, see the Windrush Compensation Scheme website.
Evidence from our casework
In 2019, we began seeing a small number of complaints about the Windrush Scheme. This included a case where we found a man who faced unreasonable delays in getting a decision about his immigration status. We recommended a financial payment of £5,000 to recognise both the distress and also delays in being able to access housing and support.
We started getting complaints about the Compensation Scheme in 2021. Most of the complaints people have brought to us are about decisions the Compensation Scheme has made. These complaints are about the Compensation Scheme:
- telling people they were not eligible for compensation by wrongly applying its own rules
- not always looking at all the evidence provided
- applying the rules even when they led to unfair outcomes for some people. It is likely that the unfairness of some of the rules may have affected more people than the cases we have seen.
Since we started looking at complaints about the Compensation Scheme, the Home Office has agreed to look again at ten cases that we have asked it to reconsider. We do not know the outcome of some of these cases because the Compensation Scheme is still looking at them and reviewing some of its rules and systems.
So far, our work has secured £432,592 in payments for people who have complained to us.
“The Ombudsman intervened and helped me to challenge the Compensation Scheme’s decision. Now, they have accepted that I am eligible and that my case can be considered. The scheme has also changed the criteria so that others who are unable to live together are eligible for consideration.” – Beverley
Listening to the people affected
People who have been negatively affected by the Compensation Scheme’s decisions have told us they want what happened to them to matter. They want this to lead to changes that could help other people affected by the Windrush scandal, or those caught up in other public scandals in the future.
We hope the stories and guidance in this report will help more people share their experiences of the Compensation Scheme and understand their right to complain.
We believe in the power of complaints. By revealing the truth, they show how mistakes can affect people’s lives and help organisations learn and improve services for everyone.