Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Windrush Compensation Scheme will (a) deal with outstanding claims and (b) be closed.

Our priority is to ensure people receive the compensation they are due as quickly as possible. We have reduced the time to allocate a claim for a substantive casework consideration, from four months a year ago to less than six weeks now. The six-week period includes all essential eligibility checks, together with a Preliminary Assessment to make an initial payment of £10,000 wherever possible.

The department does not impose time limit targets for concluding claims, as each person’s claim is deeply personal and deserves to be processed with the utmost care and sensitivity. This holistic approach necessarily takes time but is ultimately beneficial to individuals.

There is no cap on the amount of compensation that can be paid by the WCS overall, and the Scheme has no end date – ensuring that no one is prevented from applying for compensation.