has
pledged to deliver a cultural shift in the Home Office as
the government formally responds to the Windrush Lessons
Learned Review.
Today (September 30), the Home Secretary has reaffirmed her
commitment to reforming the Home Office to ensure
injustices such as those suffered by the Windrush
Generation cannot happen again.
The department worked closely with leaders of community
organisations and the Windrush Cross-Government Working
Group to develop the response to 30 recommendations by
Wendy Williams, and a raft of changes have already been
made.
Among the actions in the Comprehensive
Improvement Plan include:
- the creation of a new Community and Stakeholder
Engagement Hub
- a review of how the compliant environment operates
- developing a programme of training for the department
and all staff so that they are focused on people, not cases
- every member of staff will undertake training on the
history of migration and race in this country
Home Secretary said:
I am leading an unprecedented programme of change to
build a Home Office fit for the future, that serves every
part of the community it serves.
The Windrush Generation have waited too long for justice
and my resolve to deliver for them and their descendants
is absolute. This is the first part of our plan to
deliver meaningful change.
Permanent Secretary said:
The Windrush scandal is a spur to action - to make sure
that nothing like this can ever happen again in the Home
Office. We have begun to respond to all the
recommendations and will keep going until we have
completed the job.
Our response today sets out how we are shifting the
culture to ensure our workforce is focused on people, not
cases.
Bishop Derek Webley, co-chair of the Windrush
Cross-Government Working Group said:
The Windrush Cross-Government Working Group has been
working with the Home Office to support its Response to
the Lessons Learned Review.
We are pleased that its publication takes us a step
further on the journey to righting the wrongs, and look
forward to progressing its implementation over the coming
months.
In 2018, the previous Home Secretary commissioned a lessons
learned review into the events leading up to Windrush.
Independent oversight was provided by Wendy Williams. The
review was published on 19 March this year and the Home
Secretary gave an update on the government’s progress in
July.
In 2019, the Home Office launched the Windrush Compensation
Scheme, which so far has paid out or offered more than £2.5
million.
The department also:
- established an Urgent and Exceptional Payments process
for those members of the Windrush generation who had an
urgent and exceptional need
- set up a Vulnerable Persons Team (VPT) to provide help
and advice for more vulnerable people
- held over 120 engagement and outreach events and
surgeries
- over 13,300 documents have been provided to more than
11,500 individuals confirming their status or British
citizenship through the Windrush Taskforce, now known as
the Windrush Help Team.
Wendy Williams will return to the Home Office in 12 months
to review our progress in response to her recommendations.
