Government should shoulder the burden of proof and stop passing the buck to Windrush victims to prove their case.    

• Applicants to the scheme go through undue scrutiny and suspicion when presenting identity documents and making claims, despite other government agencies such as HMRC or the Department for Work and Pensions already possessing verified identification for these individuals.  
• The process is also outdated, requiring hard copies, and resulting in additional costs and time constraints, particularly for those who have already incurred significant financial losses and are unable to provide physical evidence. The IT support, when provided, is inadequate for claimants’ needs.  
• The Home Office only have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to check records and respond yes or no as to whether a client is eligible. Caseworkers do not check the evidence themselves. This needs to be updated to include checks of evidence as it leaves too much scope for serious error. 

Government must internally and efficiently interrogate the information they already hold on people with other departments and agencies and reduce the excessive burden of proof needed from individuals.

• Home Office case workers responsible for managing claims and in decision-making roles operate without standardised protocols or guidelines. The outcome and quality of claims are left to the discretion of individual case workers. 

JUSTICE has emphasised the need for further caseworker training and guidance to provide quality assurance and consistency, as well as cultural competency when handling claims from vulnerable individuals and diverse communities.  

The out of sight, out of mind approach to people trapped overseas must stop. 

• People overseas, who have already been deported, are at a huge disadvantage and neglected. Forms for overseas claimants are unnecessarily complex even for those with legal training. In one case, a legal team had to click 17 times from the Gov.UK homepage to find the link for overseas claims.  

Government must simplify the process, taking inspiration from successful practices elsewhere, such as the distribution of COVID-19 support for businesses; the accessibility of the Ukraine Family Scheme and from the Vibration White Finger Compensation Scheme where loss of earnings was assessed on a common law basis.