Windrush compensation scheme faces calls for overhaul as nearly 60% of applicants receive no payout

The Windrush compensation scheme requires a significant overhaul, the independent Windrush commissioner told MPs on Monday, as nearly six in 10 applications result in no payout.

Clive Foster, the independent Windrush commissioner, told the public accounts committee that survivors should receive funded legal support to make the scheme “truly fair or accessible.” He compared the current system unfavourably to compensation programmes for the Post Office Horizon and infected blood scandals, where claimants have access to legal representation.

“Survivors of the Home Office Windrush scandal have already fought the state once. They deserve a scheme that works for them, not one that asks them to prove their suffering all over again,” Foster told the committee. He added that although some improvements had been made, he was still hearing from people who found the application process “too complex and the evidential burden too high.”

“Too many people are still navigating it without the support they need. Advocates do vital work, but they cannot do what lawyers can. Challenging a flawed decision, testing evidence, advising on causation and loss,” Foster said. “I will be making the case to ministers that funded legal support is essential. Without it, the scheme cannot be truly fair or accessible.”

The scheme was launched in 2019 to compensate Windrush-era residents who were misclassified as illegal immigrants, leading to many being sacked from jobs, evicted from homes, denied NHS healthcare, and in extreme cases wrongly detained and deported. Since its launch, about £127m has been paid out to 3,764 claimants. The scheme has faced repeated criticism for processing delays, low offers, and unfair rejections. More than 50 people have died after submitting a claim but before receiving compensation.

“Nearly six in 10 decisions result in nothing. People see that and they think: why would I put myself through this?” Foster told the committee. “This scheme was built to repair a grave injustice. It still can. But not like this.”

Foster also said the Home Office should not manage compensation for mistakes made by its own staff, arguing that officials designing future schemes should not hand management of compensation to the department responsible for the original problem.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The home secretary is determined to put right the appalling injustices caused by the Windrush scandal, making sure those affected receive justice and the compensation they rightly deserve. As part of this work, those affected by the Home Office Windrush scandal will now see greater compensation and their claims processed quicker.”