17 November 2021
The Windrush Compensation Scheme is over-complex, lacks independence, suffers from delays and inconsistencies and is administered by inexperienced caseworkers, legal rights group JUSTICE has said, in its report, 'Reforming the Windrush Compensation Scheme’.
Only 864 out of an estimated 15,000 people eligible for compensation had received payments at the end of September 2021. JUSTICE made 27 recommendations, including funding legal advice for claimants, many of whom required legal assistance to make their claims.
Those who instructed solicitors were typically paying 20% to 30% of their award in legal fees. JUSTICE’s acting legal director Stephanie Needham said the scheme had ‘concerning weaknesses’.
