Priti Patel’s Home Office has a “litany of flaws”, according to MPs. Windrush victims have only been compensated for 5%. The scheme was established in the wake the scandal in which a generation was wrongly denied legal immigration status.

In the wake of Windrush, thousands of Commonwealth migrants arrived in Britain in the years following World War II. They were wrongly denied their rights and lost their jobs. In some cases, were even deported .

However, as of September 31, only 20.1% of 15,000 eligible claimants had made claims, just 5.8% of those who had been awarded any compensation had received payment, and 23 people had died before they were compensated.

The Commons Home Affairs Committee, which is cross-party, argued that the Home Office should be removed from responsibility for the scheme. Instead, an independent organization should be given to it to increase trust and encourage more applicants.

According to MPs, the scheme design contained the same “bureaucratic insensitivities” that caused the Windrush scandal. This was a “damning accusation of the Home Office”.

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The committee stated that successive governments and the Home Office had treated the Windrush generation with shame.

“No amount or compensation can ever compensate for the pain, humiliation, and fear that were caused to the individuals and communities.”

It was “deeply troubling,” that the Home Office handled claims in the same way as the Windrush scandal.

The committee reported that claimants were faced with a “daunting process”, “unreasonable requests to evidence” and “left in limbo amid inordinate delays”.

The MPs stated that injustice is often compounded, rather than being compensated. This is unacceptable and must be stopped.

Although the MPs welcomed the changes made in December 2020 to improve system, they felt that reforms were not sufficient.

Yvette Cooper, the Labour chair of the committee, stated that it had been four years since Windrush was discovered and that it was truly shocking to see how few people have been compensated for the hardships they suffered at the hands the Home Office.

“It is especially distressing that 23 people have died without any compensation.

“Urgent action must be taken to obtain compensation for those who have been so severely wronged.”

She stated that it was shocking, considering the failures in the Windrush scandal’s investigation, that the Home Office allowed the Windrush Compensation Scheme to be affected by some of the same problems.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office stated that the department and the Home Secretary remain committed to ensuring that Windrush generation members receive all the compensation they are entitled to.

“The scheme was overhauled by the Home Secretary in December to make it more efficient and pay more money quickly. Since then, the amount of compensation has increased from less than PS3million to more than PS31.6 million. A further PS5.6 million has been offered. There is no limit on how much compensation we will pay.

“We are happy that this report accepts the changes made in December to the scheme and we continue to improve such as simplifying application, increasing the number of caseworkers, and eliminating the end date.

“We believe that moving the operation from the Home Office to the Scheme would significantly delay vital payments to the affected.”