| answer text |
<p>In response to question UIN: 41960</p><p>Any information provided as part of a
compensation claim is solely used for the purpose of assessing that claim. Information
provided as part of a compensation claim is held on a separate system, and is not
shared outside of the compensation team. Information provided as part of a compensation
claim would never be passed on to Immigration Enforcement or used as part of enforcement
action.</p><p>Immigration Enforcement have put in place safeguards to ensure members
of the Windrush generation are not subjected to enforcement action. Whenever a person
is encountered who claims to be a member of the Windrush generation or to be in the
UK lawfully, they are referred to the Windrush Help Team to consider their case and,
if appropriate, issue documentation under the Windrush (status) Scheme confirming
their right to be in the UK. No enforcement action is taken against individuals whose
status is under review by the Windrush Help Team, or who have an ongoing Windrush
(status) Scheme application.</p><p>Anyone is free to submit a claim to the Windrush
Compensation Scheme, irrespective of whether they are actually eligible for compensation.
It is possible for a person who is in the UK unlawfully, and who is not a member of
the Windrush generation, to submit an unmeritorious compensation claim. They may,
rightly, be subject to enforcement action on the basis of information obtained by
Immigration Enforcement independently. We do not hold data on how many compensation
claimants have later faced enforcement action.</p><p> </p><p>In response to question
UIN: 41961</p><p>Since its launch, the Home Office has continued to listen and respond
to feedback from affected communities and stakeholders about how the Scheme operates
and its accessibility. In response to feedback, we have re-designed the primary claim
form to make it easier to complete.</p><p>We have designed the compensation scheme
to be as clear and simple as possible, so people do not need legal assistance to make
a claim. We have published a redesigned primary claim form which now has a Crystal
Mark from the Plain English Campaign, demonstrating our commitment to ensuring the
scheme is accessible and as easy to use as possible.</p><p>The new form includes more
targeted and closed questions to help people understand and provide the key information
we need from them. We believe the new form will improve peoples’ experiences of applying
to the scheme and help to speed up the processing of claims by reducing the amount
of additional information and evidence we must ask people to provide.</p><p>We have
made the evidential threshold as low as possible. Our intent is to ask for the minimum
evidence necessary to reduce the burden on individuals, whilst maximising the offers
we can make. In doing so we are seeking to strike the right balance between ensuring
the scheme is comprehensive and covers the broadest range of circumstances, whilst
also making it easy to navigate.</p><p>However, for those who want or need support
to make a claim, the Home Office provides free assistance in making applications through
our independent claims assistance provider - We Are Digital. The Windrush Compensation
Scheme Help Team can also assist individuals should they have questions about the
claim form or process.</p><p>We continue to work extensively with communities and
stakeholders to raise awareness of the Scheme and encourage affected individuals to
apply.</p>
|
|
