Tag: Home Office

The press release issued by the Home Office on 20 February 2023.

Tougher management of most dangerous abusers and new protections for victims.

Domestic abusers will face tags and tougher management under new measures to protect women and girls.

The new proposals go further than ever before in protecting women and girls from harassment, aggression and violence, and focus on stopping domestic abuse before it takes place.

The law will be changed so that the most dangerous domestic abusers will be watched more closely. For the first time, controlling or coercive behaviour will be put on a par with physical violence, which will mean offenders sentenced to a year or more imprisonment or a suspended sentence will automatically be actively managed by the police, prison and probation services under multi-agency public protection arrangements. A range of agencies will have a legal duty to cooperate to manage the risks posed by these dangerous offenders. This will make it easier to deliver a joined-up approach to protect the public.

While we are pursuing this legislation, police and the probation service will start work immediately to ensure that from now offenders sentenced to a year or more for controlling and coercive behaviour are recorded on the violent and sex offender register, so that they don’t fall through the cracks.

In addition, abusers could be fitted with a tag, prevented from going within a certain distance of a victim’s home, and made to attend a behaviour change programme, as part of a trial of domestic abuse protection notices and domestic abuse protection orders in three areas in the UK.

Also from today (20 February), those at risk of, or suffering from, domestic abuse will be able to receive emergency help from one of 18 jobcentres and jobs and benefit offices across the UK, and a new postcode checker will tell them their nearest location to access the service.

The Ask for ANI (Action Needed Immediately) scheme is already in operation in over 5,000 pharmacies across the UK in over 88 cities, towns and villages. It is delivered in partnership with Hestia’s Safe Spaces. Anyone who is suffering from or fearful of domestic abuse can ask for ANI, and they will be guided to a safe and private space and offered support to call the police or specialist domestic abuse services.

Since the scheme launched in 2021, the emergency support has been accessed on average once a week.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

No woman or girl should ever have to feel unsafe in her home or community and I am determined to stamp out these appalling crimes.

The Ask for Ani scheme provides a lifeline for anyone suffering from domestic abuse and we will continue to expand the scheme so that more people can access it, including piloting this service in the first jobcentres.

As well as extra support for victims, we’re making it a priority for the police to tackle violence against women and girls and toughening up the way offenders are managed – preventing more of these crimes from happening in the first place, and bringing more perpetrators to justice.

Government will also require police forces to treat violence against women and girls as a national threat, as set out in a new strategic policing requirement published today. This means tackling these crimes will be as important as tackling threats like terrorism, serious and organised crime and child sexual abuse.

On top of this, the National Police Chiefs’ Council is writing to every force in England and Wales to reiterate the expectation that forces must proactively identify the most dangerous domestic abusers in their area to prevent them from committing further crimes. To support this, the Home Office will help develop a new risk assessment tool so that police forces can quickly identify domestic abusers most likely to commit the greatest harm – even where they have no conviction – and stop them in their tracks.

Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, said:

Domestic abuse is a despicable crime that leads to people’s closest relationships becoming a frightening existence of torment, pain, fear, and anxiety.

It is completely unacceptable and as Home Secretary I will do everything in my power to stop it.

The wide-ranging measures announced today will mean the most dangerous offenders will be watched more closely and added to the violent and sex offender register.

Also, police forces in England and Wales will now have to treat violence against women and girls as a national threat and more victims will be protected from harm.

The full set of measures being set out today include:

1. Tougher management of the most dangerous offenders: The government will change the law to ensure that offenders with a conviction of controlling or coercive behaviour who are sentenced to 12 months or more imprisonment or a suspended sentence are automatically eligible to be managed by the police, prison and probation services under multi-agency public protection arrangements. This means agencies will have a legal duty to cooperate to manage the risks posed by these dangerous domestic abuse offenders. These offenders will also be added to the violent and sex offender register going forward.

2. Piloting new civil orders: The Home Office and Ministry of Justice will pilot the new domestic abuse protection notices and orders in Gwent, Greater Manchester, and three London boroughs (Croydon, Bromley and Sutton), with the Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police, and other criminal justice partners. The new cross-jurisdictional order will provide flexible, longer-term protection for victims. The court will be able to impose requirements such as attendance on perpetrator behaviour change programmes, alongside electronic monitoring and making it mandatory for offenders to notify the police of name and address changes. Breach of any requirement will be a criminal offence.

3. Ask for ANI codeword scheme pilot: Building on the success of the scheme in pharmacies across the UK, domestic abuse victims will be able to ‘Ask for ANI’ in 18 jobcentre and jobs and benefit offices through a pilot launching today across the UK, and receive support from a trained staff member who will guide them to a safe and private space, where they can help a victim call the police or support services. A new postcode checker has also been launched today to enable anyone to find their nearest participating pharmacy, jobcentre or jobs and benefits office.

4. Adding violence against women and girls to the strategic policing requirement: The Home Secretary has published the new strategic policing requirement, which for the first time categorises violence against women and girls as a national threat and sets clear expectations about how this threat should be tackled by police forces.

5. Identifying dangerous perpetrators before conviction: The government will develop a new digital tool which will use police data to identify individuals who are high risk and likely to commit domestic abuse offences. The tool will also include perpetrators without conviction – in the year ending March 2022 there were 910,980 domestic abuse-related crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales, compared to 40,647 convictions.

6. Strengthening Clare’s Law: We have published new guidance which reduces the timeframes for police to disclose information about an individual’s violent or abusive behaviour, through the scheme known as ‘Clare’s Law’, meaning it will be quicker to access information on a partner’s or ex-partner’s previous abusive or violent offending. The guidance will be placed on a statutory footing next month (March 2023).

7. Funding specialist victim support programmes: Up to £8.4 million will be allocated over two years to fund projects run by specialist organisations to provide tailored, trauma-informed support from 1 April 2023.

8. Investing in perpetrator interventions: police and crime commissioners (PCCs) will be granted up to £36 million over the next two years for tackling perpetrators through interventions which directly address abusers’ behaviour, bringing total funding for these projects to more than £70 million since 2020.

In April 2021, the landmark Domestic Abuse Act updated the definition of domestic abuse, recognising it refers to a range of abusive behaviour – physical, sexual, violent or threatening, psychological, emotional and coercive or controlling acts are now recognised as criminal abuse.

For the first time, the Act recognised children as victims, and economic abuse as a form of domestic abuse. It established a statutory duty on local authorities relating to the provision of support to victims and survivors and their children within safe accommodation which was supported by £125 million worth of funding, and created new offences of non-fatal strangulation and threats to disclose intimate images.

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains one of the government’s top priorities and we are doing everything possible to make our streets safer for women and girls.  Through our tackling VAWG strategy, we are prioritising prevention, supporting survivors, and strengthening the pursuit of perpetrators.

This includes measures in the Online Safety Bill to strengthen the law around the sending and sharing of intimate images without consent, and committing to introduce a package of new offences when Parliamentary time allows that tackle the taking and sharing of these vile images – which will include ‘downblousing’.

The government is also supporting the Protection from Sex Based Harassment in Public Bill, which introduces harsher sentences if someone who deliberately harasses, alarms, or distresses someone in a public place does so because of the victim’s sex, with the maximum sentence increasing from six months to two years.

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab said:

Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime which can make people’s lives a living hell and we will do whatever we can to bring these offenders to justice.

This new plan will crack down on those carrying out this abuse with tougher monitoring of offenders, including electronic tagging, while investing millions more in specialist support services for the most vulnerable.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride said:

As safe spaces with strong links to the wider community, DWP jobcentres are uniquely placed to help vulnerable people access help on a local or national level.

Ask for ANI provides victims with a discreet route to get urgent help and is an important part of the extensive support offer already in place nationally across our network.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Domestic Abuse, Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, said:

Policing is committed to protecting victims of domestic abuse and bringing perpetrators to justice.  We welcome the raft of measures aimed at tackling domestic abuse in many forms.

Adding violence against women and girls to the strategic policing requirement, puts it on the same level of priority at terrorism and child abuse, where we believe it belongs. All forces are already prioritising VAWG and we welcome this prioritisation from the government.

Domestic abuse is a complex and entrenched societal problem and requires a multi-agency approach. Providing support for victims and their families and to introduce effective and sustainable solutions for perpetrators is vital.

We will work together with the Home Office to ensure the measures announced today can aid policing and the criminal justice system in their fight to tackle domestic abuse.

Caroline Bernard, Head of Influence at Respect, said:

Respect welcomes these additional measures to respond to perpetrators of violence against women and girls, including domestic abuse. They echo our calls to address the root cause, as well as the consequences of violence and abuse.

In particular, we are pleased to see that violence against women and girls will be added to the strategic policing requirement. Implemented effectively and resourced appropriately, this could have a major impact on the policing response to perpetrators of VAWG.

We look forward to working with government to ensure that these additional measures are delivered successfully alongside the tackling domestic abuse plan, so that survivors of domestic abuse can be safe and free from harm.

Today’s announcements sit alongside wider work the government is doing to tackle domestic abuse. Since the publication of the tackling domestic abuse plan the government has:

• doubled funding for the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, which sees on average 15,000 users every three months, and an uplift for all other national tackling VAWG helplines, to a combined total of over £2 million a year
• launched a new communications campaign, ‘Enough’ to change societal attitudes towards domestic abuse and violence against women and girls, taking long term actions to prevent violence and encourage bystander intervention. The campaign includes online information at enough.campaign.gov.uk, television adverts, billboard signs, social media posts and radio advertisements highlighting the different actions we can all take to challenge perpetrators of abuse
• committed over £79 million since 2020 for domestic abuse perpetrator interventions and research which includes up to £36 million over the next two years for interventions which is the first time we are providing multi-year funding to tackle perpetrators
• introduced new measures in our Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which will give victims of domestic abuse longer to report offences to the police so that abusers cannot evade justice
• as part of quadrupling funding for victim and witness support services by 2024/25, up from £41m in 2009/10, we have also committed increase the number of independent sexual and domestic abuse advisors by 300 to over 1,000 – a 43% increase over the next three years

The press release issued by the Home Office on 10 February 2023.

Members of an organised crime group which smuggled more than a dozen Middle Eastern nationals into the UK have been jailed for a combined 26 years.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 8 February 2023.

The Home Secretary has committed to delivering wholesale and rapid change across Prevent following a major independent review into the programme.

• Independent Review of Prevent paves the way for a stronger, more transparent, and proportionate approach to stopping people from being radicalised into terrorism.
• Islamist terrorism remains the primary terrorist threat to the UK. Prevent’s activity will be proportionately directed to confront this, whilst remaining vigilant against all other threats including the extreme right.
• Prevent will recalibrate its focus towards tackling the ideological drivers of radicalisation over wider issues, including mental health.

The Home Secretary has committed to delivering wholesale and rapid change across Prevent following a major independent review into the programme.

The Home Secretary will deliver on all 34 recommendations made by William Shawcross, who led the Independent Review of Prevent, ensuring a robust and proportionate focus on radicalising influences rather than wider issues such as mental health.

Published today (8 February) alongside the government response, the review makes clear that the threat from terrorism is becoming more complex, with the extreme right becoming an increasing concern, but Islamist terrorism remains our primary and deadliest threat.

The independent review highlights several areas where serious reform is required to ensure it is able to effectively identify and respond to the Islamist threat.

The independent review recognises the need for Prevent to better understand ideology and the individual agency of people who willingly support terrorism. The government’s response will ensure that, in the face of an enduring terrorist threat to the UK, Prevent can adequately address the dangerous ideologies which underpin it.

Prevent will focus its activity where it will have the most impact, while remaining flexible enough to respond to evolving threats and all radicalisation risks. Greater emphasis will be placed on tackling Islamist ideology, which underpins the primary terror threat to the UK.

Prevent is delivered by a multi-layered network of dedicated professionals who play a fundamental role in tackling radicalisation up and down the country. This network’s understanding of ideology will be strengthened through our expanded training programme, which aims to drive up standards and speed up referrals.

Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, said:

I am grateful to William Shawcross and welcome his independent review.

Prevent will now ensure it focuses on the key threat of Islamist terrorism. As part of this more proportionate approach, we will also remain vigilant on emerging threats, including on the extreme right.

This independent review has identified areas where real reform is required. This includes a need for Prevent to better understand Islamist ideology, which underpins the predominant terrorist threat facing the UK.

I wholeheartedly accept all 34 recommendations and am committed to quickly delivering wholesale change to ensure we are taking every possible step to protect our country from the threat posed by terrorism.

Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat, said:

This government will always protect the British people – whether from the threat posed by terrorism, or from the hateful ideologies that underpin it.

This review strengthens and bolsters the Prevent programme. I am determined to deliver the improvements needed to accelerate our fight against radicalisation.

Ultimately, every community in our country deserves protection from threat of radicalisation and the violence that it brings.

To address the disparate terrorist threat, Prevent will move from a local model of delivery to a regional one, driving up Prevent delivery standards nationwide through increased join up between the police and regional partners.

Prevent duty guidance will be updated to ensure a consistent referral process across national and local delivery, and those sectors under the duty. Further work is already underway to consider extending the Prevent duty, to broaden the touch points in place for frontline professionals to identify and refer relevant concerns to Prevent.

All local authorities in England and Wales will have access to expert Prevent support from the Home Office, enabling resource to be surged into areas to meet radicalisation risks.

Prevent will overhaul its training and guidance for all staff, and introduce a security threat check, to ensure all decision-making is aligned with the current threat.

It will ensure a greater understanding of antisemitism in Channel cases and ensure more effective disruption of extremists targeting Jewish communities.

Prevent will work closely with DLUHC and the Commission for Countering Extremism to develop new training to ensure better understanding of ideology across Prevent teams. It will also review its wider training to ensure it aligns with the findings of the independent review.

Work to implement the recommendations of the review has already started, and the majority of recommendations are expected to be actioned within 12 months. The Home Office has committed to report on implementation of the recommendations a year from now.

The Home Office will create an independent standards and compliance unit to provide a clear and accessible route for the public and practitioners to raise concerns about Prevent activity where it may have fallen short of its standards. The Home Office will also refresh the Ministerial Prevent Oversight Board to ensure recommendations are implemented swiftly and effectively.

Prevent has already changed and saved the lives of individuals from all walks of life, with over 3,800 people offered early interventions through the Channel programme. The review will act as a blueprint for strengthening this response.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 7 February 2023.

Lady Elish Angiolini to examine David Carrick case as part of the ongoing Angiolini Inquiry.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 6 February 2023.

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has announced Civil Service industrial action that will impact Border Force operations.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 3 February 2023.

Eleven more lethal substances to be made Class A drugs, following a recommendation by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

To stop lethal drugs claiming more lives, 11 synthetic opioids will be banned in the UK, the Home Office announced today (3 February 2023).

On the recommendation of Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), 10 additional nitazenes and brorphine will be made Class A substances.

These highly dangerous drugs are psychoactive substances which can be more potent than fentanyl. To protect lives, their possession will now be illegal and anyone who supplies the drugs will face up to life in prison, an unlimited fine or both.

Often mixed into other pills sold on the street, the government commissioned the ACMD to investigate after the substances were linked to rising overdoses in other countries. The ACMD found one drug, isotonitazene, was responsible for 24 fatalities in the UK in 2021 alone. Their recommendation to place all 11 narcotics in Class A has been accepted.

Policing Minister Chris Philp said:

Synthetic opioids are highly dangerous substances, which ruin lives and devastate communities.

We must stop these lethal drugs from reaching our streets, to prevent more tragic deaths and other harmful consequences of addiction, from violent crime to antisocial behaviour.

Drugs like these erode our society and we accept the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ recommendations, to bring proper penalties on their supply.

The substances to be added to Class A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, subject to Parliamentary approval, are: Butonitazene, Etodesnitazene (etazene), Flunitazene, Isotonitazene, Metodesnitazene (metazene), Metonitazene, N-Desethylisotonitazene, N-Piperidinyl-etonitazene (etonitazepipne), N-Pyrrolidino-etonitazene (etonitazepyne), Protonitazene and Brorphine. Because they have no recognised medical uses in the UK, they will also be placed in Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Legislation will be brought forward to control these substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, as soon as possible, when Parliamentary time allows.

The move comes as a UK Drugs Ministerial was held yesterday, with ministers and experts from across the four nations. Chaired by the Policing Minister, it seeks to facilitate a UK-wide approach to tackling substance misuse.

Attendees included Scottish and Welsh representatives, Angela Constance MSP and Lynne Neagle MS, along with representatives from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, and Department for Health and Social Care. Dame Carol Black, Independent Advisor on Combating Drugs, and Owen Bowden-Jones, Chair of the ACMD, were also in attendance.

Delegates shared information on drug-related deaths, including impacts of poly-drug use, as well as drug supply and use across the UK.

The meeting was the third of its kind. It supports the cross-government drug strategy, which brings a whole-system approach to tackling drugs, from enforcement through to treatment. Over 2,900 county lines, which shift drugs around the country, have already been dismantled through the approach. As part of the effort to tackle drug-related deaths, we have also dedicated £780 million to support people through treatment and recovery.

And today, the Department of Health and Social Care has also announced £53m will go to 28 local authorities in England to provide housing support to people in drug and alcohol treatment. The funding strengthens our government-wide commitment to reducing drug use and improving treatment outcomes, as part of the drug strategy.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 31 January 2023.

An estimated 136,000 violent offences have been prevented in areas of England and Wales delivering government-funded programmes to reduce serious violence.

Eighteen areas of England and Wales most blighted by violent crime have been receiving targeted funding for the past three years, to increase police patrols in crime hotspots and provide more support to at-risk young people.

An independent evaluation published today of the government’s ‘hotspot’ policing programme and network of Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) has revealed promising signs the approach is working, with 136,000 violence without injury offences estimated to have been prevented in areas with the programmes.

There are also positive indications that homicides and hospital admissions for violent injuries are reducing in these locations as a result of this funding.

The results come as the new Serious Violence Duty comes into force today, which was brought in by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and places a legal duty on public bodies to work together to drive down serious violence.

Policing Minister Chris Philp said:

These are outstanding results. Early interventions, which support at-risk kids to make the right choices in life, are helping to keep our communities and streets safer.

Serious violence is a complex issue, which is why we are putting multi-agency working at the centre of our approach.

Violence Reduction Units, hotspot patrols and the recruitment of 20,000 additional police officers will see every community become a safe and prosperous place to live.

Set up in 2019, VRUs are a pioneering multi-agency initiative that brings together local partners in policing, education, health, and local government, to identify vulnerable children and adults and steer them away from a life of crime and violence.

With prevention better than cure, VRUs and GRIP patrols not only reduce violent incidents but see wider benefits. In their third year of operation, for every £1 invested by the Home Office in this serious violence prevention work, there was a return of £4.10 in savings to society.

The Violence Intervention Project (VIP) navigator scheme by the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Violence Reduction Unit engages with young people in custody suites, at a time they are most likely to accept help. Support workers create a ‘teachable moment’ to offer support and access to services to steer them back on track.

One eighteen-year old, James (name has been changed), was helped by the VIP team after being caught in possession of a knife and drugs. Weekly mentoring, engagement with a substance misuse worker, and enrolment on a construction course and a gym has helped him stick to his bail conditions. He has not reoffended, has been more open about his mental health and now understands how decisions at this stage of his life can impact his future.

Grace Strong, Director of the Leicestershire Violence Reduction Network said:

The VIP team are seeing hundreds of young people a year and offering them tailored support to make positive changes in their life and reducing their risk of being involved in further serious violence.

These vulnerable young people are becoming supported and empowered, and it is extremely positive for everyone to see them achieve goals that they never thought to be possible.

West Yorkshire VRU runs a similar scheme, in conjunction with the local hospital, to reach those presenting in A&E due to a violent incident.

Dr Alice Downs, Paediatric Emergency Consultant & Department Safeguarding Lead for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said:

When young people come into our hospitals as a result of violent crime we have a small window of opportunity to offer brief intervention using youth workers to empower the young person to make better life choices.

Working with the Violence Reduction Unit has enabled us to establish a team of Navigators who can explore the circumstances that have led to the young person’s hospital attendance, and address these to try and prevent similar incidents occurring.

Their attendance in our Emergency Department provides a valuable opportunity to intervene, improve lives, reduce morbidity and death from violent crime. This in turn should reduce the substantial impact on families and the cost to the NHS.

Building on the successes of VRUs, from today, multi-agency working is a legal obligation for public bodies across England and Wales, through the Serious Violence Duty. Police, health, fire and rescue services, local government and criminal justice partners will now be required to collaborate to find and address the causes of serious violence in their local area.

The duty will aim to continue driving down serious youth violence (as measured by under 25 hospital admissions for assault by a sharp object) across England and Wales, which has already fallen by 20% across England and Wales since March 2020.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 31 January 2023.

The Small Boats Operational Command (SBOC) will bring together the government’s response to small boats with 730 additional staff.

A bolstered response to curb migrant crossings comes into force today (Tuesday 31 January), as leadership of tackling small boats in the Channel returns to the Home Office.

The newly created Small Boats Operational Command (SBOC), which is part of Border Force, brings together the government’s response to small boats under a single integrated structure, enhancing the work conducted alongside the military last year.

To support this, 730 additional staff will be recruited, with 100 of these located inside its UK headquarters, while the remainder will bolster operations.

New air and maritime capabilities including new drones, boats, land-based radar and cameras, will also be introduced under SBOC. This will aid our ability to track vessels on the water, identify pilots and help to bring those responsible to justice.

The SBOC, which will be led in the interim by director Duncan Capps, will strengthen existing capabilities to oversee operations with the French to disrupt crossings, save lives at sea and ensure the effective processing of arrivals in the UK.

Military leadership of the operational response to Channel crossings was always intended to be a temporary measure and scheduled to end in January 2023. SBOC will continue to work closely with the military during a handover period to respond to the challenge of Channel crossings.

The command, through additional staff and new technologies, along with close working with NCA and other European partners, will deliver a more coordinated response in the Channel.

A government spokesperson said:

Last year we saw an unsustainable and unacceptable number of people risking their lives to reach the UK illegally.

This simply cannot continue and that is why we are taking immediate steps to tackle the evil people-smuggling gangs behind these deadly crossings and get our immigration system under control.

The return of Channel primacy to the Home Office, bolstered by 730 extra staff and led by director Duncan Capps, is a significant landmark in our long-term plan to ensure the safety and sovereignty of our borders and our communities.

We are building on the progress already made through the new deal with France, and our determination will not waiver until we stop the abuse of the asylum system and bring the smugglers responsible to justice.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 25 January 2023.

Latest figures show that there are more than 16,700 additional police officers in England and Wales since April 2020.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 24 January 2023.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has reaffirmed her department’s commitment to the Windrush generation, whilst hosting her first formal meeting with the Windrush Cross-Government Working Group.

It comes as new figures show that by the end of last year, more than £64 million in compensation had been paid or offered by the Home Office to those affected by the Windrush scandal.

Some 15,713 people have been helped to secure documentation confirming their right to be in the UK.

The Windrush Working Group was set up in June 2020 and brings together stakeholders and community leaders with senior representatives from several government departments.

The meeting today (24 January), which took place at 10 Downing Street, involved discussions on the operation of the Windrush Compensation Scheme, the Home Office’s progress in responding to the recommendations of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review and planning across government to mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of MV Empire Windrush in June.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:

A huge amount has been achieved in responding to and learning the lessons of Windrush and I’m delighted to have been able to host the Windrush Working Group – who have done so much to help shape the Home Office’s response.

The fact we have now offered or paid more than £64 million in compensation to those affected by the scandal is due in no small part to their tenacity and expertise.

I am committed to working with my co-chair Bishop Webley and the group’s other members to continue to drive the improvements this department must make.

The Home Secretary reiterated her commitment to ensure those affected receive the compensation they deserve and that the department she leads learns the lessons of Windrush.

Bishop Derek Webley, co-chair of the Windrush Working Group said:

The Home Secretary has made clear that she’s committed to working with us on these vitally important issues.

We will continue to ensure the voices of the community are heard and I’m confident our advice and constructive challenge will continue to have a positive and tangible impact.

We’ve worked hard to support and serve the interests of the Windrush generation, who have contributed so much to the life of this country, and we have made very good progress but we all recognise there is more to do.

The group has been integral to driving improvements to the Windrush Compensation Scheme, culminating in its overhaul in December 2020, when the minimum payment was raised from £250 to £10,000. This minimum award is now paid as a preliminary payment as soon as someone applying can demonstrate an impact on their life under the terms of the scheme.

It has advised on the design and delivery of the £500,000 Windrush Schemes Community Fund, which allowed community and grassroot organisations to bid for up to £25,000 to deliver projects encouraging applications to the Home Office’s documentation and compensation schemes. It also advised the department on a communications campaign with the same objectives.

And it has provided strategic input into the Home Office’s response to the Windrush Lessons Learned Review (WLLR), which was written by Wendy Williams and published in March 2019. In her follow-up progress report, published last March, Ms Williams concluded that 21 of her 30 recommendations had been met or partially met. The Home Office will be updating Parliament shortly on its progress in responding to all of the recommendations in the report.

Most recently, in October 2022, the Home Office established the Office for the Independent Examiner of Complaints (recommendation 25), offering customers of the department’s immigration services an opportunity to have their case reviewed independently if they remain unhappy with the outcome of a complaint.

Compensation Scheme Statistics

Today’s statistics show that £53.98 million had been paid out by the end of December 2022 across 1,417 claims. A further £10.09 million has been offered, awaiting acceptance, or pending review, taking the total amount paid or offered to more than £64 million.

The statistics also highlight a significant increase in the number of claims receiving a final decision during the calendar year 2022, at 1,485, compared to 873 in 2021.

Payments to date include some very significant sums. More than 200 people have been paid between £50,000 and £100,000 and over a dozen have been paid more than £200,000.