Home Office recall: Spring 2021

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 23 Mar 2021 Closed: 16 Nov 2021 Parliament page
The Committee will question senior officials at Home Office on current and recurring issues that have arisen in a range of Committee inquiries , including the long-delayed Emergency Services Network, the Windrush Compensation Scheme and wider issues of immigration enforcement, and the almost two decades of failed digital infrastructure projects … Read more
17 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Letter
1 Event
Activity timeline 5 events
8 Nov
2021
Report published
27 Jul
2021
Report published
29 Jun
2021
Correspondence
7 Jun
2021
Oral evidence
7 Jun
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
7 Jun 2021
View on parliament.uk
Home Office recall: Spring 2021
Charu Gorasia · Home Office Matthew Rycroft CBE · Home Office Paul Lincoln · Home Office Tom Greig · Home Office
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compensation Scheme HC 174 27 Jul 2021 17 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
17 results
2 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The scheme design was too complex and made it difficult for victims to engage with.
The scheme design was too complex and made it difficult for victims to engage with. Many of the difficulties suffered by the Windrush generation were due to insufficient documentation, and yet the Department designed a scheme which demands evidence it … Read more
Government Response
2.1 The department agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: March 2022 2.2 Prior to the publication of the Committee's report and in response to feedback from stakeholders and … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
3 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The Department’s planning estimates for the scheme have been completely wrong.
The Department’s planning estimates for the scheme have been completely wrong. When it set up the compensation scheme in April 2019 the Department made a series of key assumptions about how the scheme would work, which have not matched what … Read more
Government Response
3.1 The department agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 3.2 The department had revised the scheme’s planning assumption prior to the publication of the Committee’s report. 3.3. Estimating the … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
4 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The Department launched the scheme without the caseworkers it required to deliver the complex scheme...
The Department launched the scheme without the caseworkers it required to deliver the complex scheme it designed and has never had the operational capacity it needs, leaving people waiting for decisions. When it launched the scheme, the Department had only … Read more
Government Response
4.1 The department agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented 4.2 As of 19 October 2021, the department has eighty caseworkers, and expect at least a further thirty-four to join … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
1 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Home Office (the Department) about the Windrush Compensation Scheme.1
Government Response
Based on a report by the Public Accounts Committee, the Committee took evidence on Monday, 7 June 2021 from the Home Office’s Windrush Compensation Scheme. The Committee published its report … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
5 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The National Audit Office report noted that for claims received after March 2020 (the only...
The National Audit Office report noted that for claims received after March 2020 (the only data for which the Department had detailed process data) only 10% (102 claims) had reached payment approval stage. These 102 claims took on average 177 … Read more
Government Response
1. The BBC appears complacent about the threat it faces from declining audiences. Each year people spend less time watching BBC TV and 200,000 more households choose to opt out … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
6 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The Department recognised that its processing of claims was not always quick and that it...
The Department recognised that its processing of claims was not always quick and that it had not yet done enough to reduce the time it takes to process them. It claimed that it now has ‘the right plans in place’ … Read more
Government Response
1.1 The department agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: March 2022 1.2 The Home Office (the department) remains focused on speeding up the processing of claims. On 21 … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
7 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The Department expressed confidence that the scheme would be quicker and less demanding thanks to...
The Department expressed confidence that the scheme would be quicker and less demanding thanks to the changes it implemented in December 2020.18 We asked what the Department believed was an acceptable period to process claims and heard that it avoided … Read more
Government Response
1.1 The department agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: March 2022 1.2 The Home Office (the department) remains focused on speeding up the processing of claims. On 21 … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
8 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The Department claimed that the scheme was unprecedented, but that it had spoken to ombudsmen...
The Department claimed that the scheme was unprecedented, but that it had spoken to ombudsmen across government in its efforts to design an effective scheme.23 Following the session, the Department wrote to us and described how it drew on the … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
9 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The Department asserted that no-one eligible to receive compensation should fail to receive it because...
The Department asserted that no-one eligible to receive compensation should fail to receive it because they could not provide evidence to support their claim.28 The Department claimed it designed the scheme to minimise the amount of evidence required, although the … Read more
Government Response
The department agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: March 2022 2.2 Prior to the publication of the Committee's report and in response to feedback from stakeholders and affected … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
10 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
We noted that it has been especially difficult for some types of claimants to see...
We noted that it has been especially difficult for some types of claimants to see progress with their claims.33 The National Audit Office reported that more than one-third of claims on behalf of the estate of someone who has died … Read more
Government Response
2.2 Prior to the publication of the Committee's report and in response to feedback from stakeholders and affected individuals, the department had launched a package of support to help those … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
11 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The Department underlined its determination to right the wrongs it has inflicted on the Windrush...
The Department underlined its determination to right the wrongs it has inflicted on the Windrush generation. It stated that this is why getting the compensation scheme right is absolutely essential.37 The Department repeatedly committed to maximising applications to the scheme … Read more
Government Response
3.7 The revision does not change the department’s commitment to ensuring all affected members of the Windrush generation make a claim and receive the maximum compensation to which they are … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
12 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
We asked whether the Department had been too optimistic in setting out its initial assumptions.42...
We asked whether the Department had been too optimistic in setting out its initial assumptions.42 The National Audit Office reported that the Department originally estimated it would pay between £120 and £310 million to an estimated 15,000 claimants.43 In October … Read more
Government Response
3.1 The department agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 3.2 The department had revised the scheme’s planning assumption prior to the publication of the Committee’s report. 3.3. Estimating the … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
13 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The Department told us it wanted to ensure all those potentially eligible to apply to...
The Department told us it wanted to ensure all those potentially eligible to apply to the scheme could do so.47 This committee recommended in March 2019 that the Department extend its historical reviews “beyond Caribbean Commonwealth nationals to include other … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
14 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The Department acknowledged it took longer to process claims than it had expected.54 The National...
The Department acknowledged it took longer to process claims than it had expected.54 The National Audit Office calculated that claims took an average of 154 staff hours to process to payment, five times more than the Department originally estimated.55 The … Read more
Government Response
1.2 The Home Office (the department) remains focused on speeding up the processing of claims. On 21 July 2021, the department published a redesigned primary claim form which is easier … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
15 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The National Audit Office reported that the Department originally planned to have 125 caseworkers, but...
The National Audit Office reported that the Department originally planned to have 125 caseworkers, but at the launch of the scheme it only had six.58 The Department told us it had entirely rebuilt its capacity plan since ‘October or November’ … Read more
Government Response
4.1 The department agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented 4.2 As of 19 October 2021, the department has eighty caseworkers, and expect at least a further thirty-four to join … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
16 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The Department told us it has a lengthy and comprehensive training course for caseworkers followed...
The Department told us it has a lengthy and comprehensive training course for caseworkers followed by mentoring to ensure that caseworkers formulate awards accurately.63 The National Audit Office noted that, as of March 2021, the Department was aware of six … Read more
Government Response
2.3 The department is committed to ensuring that caseworkers are equipped to act effectively and compassionately. All staff complete training courses such as ‘The Face Behind the Case’. The department … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
17 Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Windrush Compe…
The Department noted that it was exploring options to obtain additional caseworking support for the...
The Department noted that it was exploring options to obtain additional caseworking support for the scheme from elsewhere within the Department.69 In the longer term, it is examining how it can restructure the way it organises its caseworkers across all … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
Correspondence 1 letter
29 Jun 2021 Correspondence from Matthew Rycroft CBE, Permanent Secretary, Home Office, re follow up to the Home Office evidence session 7th June, dated 22 June
Parliament page