Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress his Department has made in its Windrush scheme: historical review of removals and detentions; and if he will make a statement.

The Home Secretary wrote to the Chair of the Home Affairs Committee on 21 August, outlining the initial findings of the Historical Review of removals and detentions. The review found that the total number of individuals identified who have been removed and/or detained by the Home Office since 2002, and who have something on their file which indicates they may have been in the UK before 1 January 1973, is 164.

Of these we identified 18 individuals who stayed in the UK permanently and who are the people we consider most likely to have suffered the most detriment because their right to be in the UK was not recognised and where the de-partment is most likely to have acted wrongfully in removing or detaining them. Eleven of these left the UK voluntarily and seven were detained.

Work on cases involving criminality, as well as individuals who were subject to proactive compliant environment sanctions, is ongoing. These figures will be provided to HASC upon completion of the work.
Our regular updates to HASC are published at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/correspondence-on-the-work-of-the-home-office-windrush