Home Office risks another Windrush scandal if its culture does not change, review author warns

The Home Office risks another Windrush scandal happening if it does not change its culture, the author of a government-commissioned review has warned.

Wendy Williams said she was “disappointed” by the Home Office’s progress after she gave the department 30 improvement recommendations two years ago following an initial review into the Windrush scandal.

The scandal began to surface in 2018 after it emerged hundreds of British citizens, many who came to the UK from the Caribbean between 1948 and 1973 – some on the HMT Empire Windrush ship – had been wrongly detained, deported and denied legal rights.

Many lost homes and jobs and were denied access to healthcare and benefits. Since then, the Home Office has provided thousands of documents to more than 11,500 people confirming their immigration status or citizenship.

Ms Williams, inspector at Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service, published her first report into the handling of the scandal in 2020 and was invited to return to examine its progress.

In her initial report, she concluded the scandal was “foreseeable and avoidable” and victims were let down by “systemic operational failings” at the Home Office.

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Her newest assessment is also fairly damning for the government as she says only eight of the 30 recommendations have been implemented in full and there has been “next to no progress” on a further “seven or eight”.

Ms Williams urged ministers and officials to “grasp the opportunity” to make “fundamental” improvements so the department is better at dealing with the public, more “confident under the gaze of scrutiny” and has a more professional workforce.

She said the Home Office had shown “ambition and commitment” to making changes in some areas.

But, she added: “In others, I have been disappointed by the lack of tangible progress or drive to achieve the cultural changes required within a reasonable period to make them sustainable.

“Much more progress is required in policy-making and casework, which will be seen as the major indicators of improvement.”

Risk of another Windrush-type scandal

She said the Home Office “runs the risk of another incident – whatever it may be – occurring”.

“We only need to look at the various matters that the department is facing at home and abroad, which make it clear that it’s got to be alive to potential future risks,” she told reporters on Thursday.

The Home Office is “at a tipping point” and the next stage is “crucial”, she added.

There are two options for the department, she said. It can “maintain its momentum and drive the initiatives forward to achieve the systemic and cultural changes required”.

Or, her report said it “can settle for a situation where it loses impetus, direction and focus, in which event, it runs the risk that it may only be a matter of time before it faces another ‘difficult outcome’, with all that that entails”.

Lengthy delays in Windrush compensation

Among a series of other concerns raised, Ms Williams said she saw “lengthy delays” in the Windrush compensation scheme and warned victims were facing “severe financial and personal difficulties” four years on, with many sceptical of the Home Office.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was “pleased with what we’ve achieved in the last two years”.

She added: “I have laid the foundations for radical change in the department and a total transformation of culture.

“We have already made significant progress and Wendy highlights many achievements, including the work we have put into becoming a more compassionate and open organisation.

“Having said that, there is more to do and I will not falter in my commitment to everyone who was affected by the Windrush scandal.”

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