Gov’t Launch £1.5 Million Fund for Windrush Advocacy as Calls Grow For Public Inquiry

BY GERMAIN KWESI

The government has launched a £1.5 million fund to aid Windrush compensation claimants over the next three years amid calls for a public inquiry into the Scandal.

The initiative known as the Windrush Compensation Advocacy Support Fund (WCASF), the program aims to help community organizations provide dedicated advocates who can assist claimants throughout the compensation application process. Organizations that wish to apply for this fund can do so by visiting the official government grants website. Applications opened on 11^th April 2025 and will close on 9^th May 2025. To help organizations assist victims of the scandal through the application process, virtual information sessions will be held on 14 and 15^th  April 2025—with registration available via email.

Image credit W.N.O.

The Windrush scandal, which came to light in 2018, exposed the wrongful treatment of members of the Windrush generation—Caribbean migrants who arrived in the UK between 1948 and 1971, and between 1971 and 1988. Many of these individuals, who had lived and worked in the UK for decades, were wrongly detained, denied legal rights—including access to housing, jobs, and healthcare—or even deported due to the Home Office's "hostile environment" immigration policies. The scandal highlighted systemic failures, including the Home Office's demands for extensive documentation to prove residency, which many victims found impossible to provide.

The compensation scheme, introduced in 2018, was intended to address these injustices. However, victims have criticized the scheme as overly complex and bureaucratic—with many arguing that it should not be administered by the same department responsible for their mistreatment. Reports have revealed delays, wrongful denials, and a lack of transparency in the process—leading to calls for the scheme to be managed independently of the Home Office.

Many victims and campaigners—including some MPs—have called for a Post Office styled public inquiry into the scandal following the release of a damning report detailing decades of racist immigration and nationality legislation as the root cause of the scandal. The report highlights that successive governments have introduced legislation to reduce the number of people settling in the UK who did not have white skin.

The new advocacy fund seeks to address some of the challenges applicants have endured over the past six years since the compensation scheme was first introduced—by empowering victims with emotional and practical support. Advocates will help claimants gather evidence, articulate their stories, and navigate the application process in a safe and supportive environment. The government hopes that this initiative will not only increase uptake of the compensation scheme but also ensure that victims receive the justice they deserve.

Critics argue the fund doesn’t go far enough to right the wrongs.  Carl Williams Nwazota a victim of the Home Office’s Windrush Scandal said. “£1.5 million is only a drop in the ocean, it works out to £500k over three years and split between more than 40 groups and advocates helping victims.” He lamented, “There should be legal aid available for victims, but the Home Office fears judicial review claims and court challenges to their decisions and most groups charge victims a percentage fee of the mediocre pay-outs from the Home Office. Its all wrong the entire scheme is wrong, and even victims of the Post Office Scandal say it’s wrong. We need a ‘Public Inquiry’ and Labour called for one repeatedly from the Tories but now they are in power they avoid it.”

Mr. Nwazota fought for more than 15 years to prove he was British despite being born in Brent, west London in the 1970’s he ended up homeless and sleeping in his van. He says the Home Office has not compensated him and they have treated him like a peasant, undeserving of compensation for what they have done to him.

Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Seema Malhotra MP said: 

“The Home Office Windrush scandal was an appalling injustice that should never have happened. People who had built their lives here and contributed so much to our country were wrongly treated as illegal immigrants in the place they called home. 

This £1.5 million fund is a decisive step in our mission to right these wrongs. By providing dedicated advocacy support, we’re breaking down barriers and ensuring victims have a voice through every step of the compensation process.  We are determined that Windrush communities will finally receive the recognition and justice they deserve.” 

For further details, visit the gov.uk website or stay tuned to JamRadio.uk for updates on how this fund is shaping the compensation process.