FEAR of the Home Office is stopping Windrush victims making compensation claims, a report calling for the payout scheme to be taken out of the department’s control found today.

A report by the charity Justice has made 27 recommendations to improve the Windrush Compensation Scheme after finding “concerning weaknesses” in the way it is administered.

Set up in April 2019, the scheme aims to compensate victims of the Windrush scandal, who were wrongly denied the right to work and access to benefits because they couldn’t prove their British citizenship. Many people were also detained and deported. 

Despite initial estimates of around 15,000 people being eligible for compensation, as of October 2021, only 864 claimants have received payouts. 

Justice’s report said the scheme suffers from an inherent lack of independence, given that it is administered by the same department responsible for the very failings for which claimants are seeking compensation. 

“In circumstances where fear and mistrust of the Home Office continues to run deep among victims and spans multiple generations, the inherent lack of independence in this approach has seriously undermined the aims of the scheme,” the report said.

This has contributed to the low numbers of people applying for the scheme, it added. 

Among its recommendations, the report calls for the scheme to be removed from the Home Office and for legal funding to be made available for all successful claimants. 

Justice’s acting legal director Stephanie Needleman said: “Through these recommendations, we hope to see structural changes to improve processes, ensuring that those who have suffered are treated with dignity and receive the compensation they are due.”

A Home Office spokesperson said it firmly believes that “moving the operation of the scheme out of the Home Office would risk significantly delaying vital payments to those affected.”

“However, we are always open to making further improvements and will reflect carefully on the report’s findings,” they added.