Dear constituent

Thank you for contacting me about the recent debate the House of Commons held to mark Windrush Day 2021.

Windrush Day, 22 June, honours the British Caribbean community and the half a million people who travelled to the UK after the Second World War upon the request of the British Government. The Windrush generation and their families have made a huge impact on every facet of our national life, from our NHS to our transport system, public and private sectors, the arts, culture, religion and sports. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

The scandal of members of the Windrush generation being cut off from accessing the very basics of human life – work, housing and healthcare – years later, is shameful. It is a scandal that continues to cast a shadow over our country’s reputation for fairness and just administration.

I praise the campaigners who fought so hard to expose this injustice and for the rights of victims. The Wendy Williams review came incredibly close to calling the Home Office institutionally racist. The Equality and Human Rights Commission found that the Home Office did not comply with its equality duty when understanding the impact on the Windrush generation and their descendants when developing, implementing and monitoring the hostile environment policy agenda.

The Windrush compensation scheme is therefore crucial. It is not just a vital way to ensure that people have access to the funds they need as a result of the huge wrongs they have endured, it is also an opportunity for those in power to show they have listened, appreciated the scale of the scandal and acted. Unfortunately, just 687 people have received compensation, of the 11,500 who could be eligible. At least 21 people have died waiting for justice from the scheme.

I believe the Windrush compensation scheme should be moved into the hands of an independent body away from the Home Office. That body must have the confidence of victims so as to restore faith in the process and to quickly get compensation to people who have been so appallingly treated. The Home Office should also now give cast-iron guarantees on when every recommendation from the Wendy Williams review will be implemented, not just a promise that they will be eventually.

In one of Britain’s most challenging moments, the Windrush generation answered the Government’s call for help. But when the Government was called upon to act for them, I believe it has done too little, too late

Yours Sincerely,

Peter Dowd MP