Windrush fund pays out cash to fewer than 5%

FEWER than 5 per cent of claims made under the Government’s Windrush Compensation Scheme have been paid out, according to official data.

The Home Office said it has paid £362,996 to 60 people, including one payment in excess of £100,000, during the first year of the scheme.

The data add that 1,275 claims were made by the end of March this year, with the number received by the department decreasing each quarter since it launched.

The compensation fund has an estimated budget of at least £200 million, with the Home Office adding that it has also made offers of approximately £280,000 which have yet to be accepted.

It said many people who have received compensation are likely to get more because what they have been given so far is an interim payment.

MPS have previously warned there is a risk of people dying before they receive compensation owed unless the Government steps up its efforts.

In 2018, ministers faced a furious backlash over the treatment of the Windrush generation, named after a ship that brought migrants to Britain from the Caribbean in 1948.

Commonwealth citizens who arrived before 1973 were automatically granted indefinite leave to remain.

But some were later challenged over their immigration status despite living in the UK legally for decades.

An independent review found that the scandal was “foreseeable and avoidable” and victims were let down by “systemic operational failings”.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said the scheme was developed to “ease the burden from unacceptable mistreatment” and that people should continue to come forward.