Home Office’s snail pace is no longer acceptable

We are now almost four years since the revelation of the Windrush scandal, which has affected so many lives.

I recall hosting a consultation meeting in Birmingham with Wendy Williams as she was gathering evidence for her initial Lessons Learned Review. It is clear that now four years into the scandal and almost two years since the Lessons Learned Review was published, many things have not changed.

It must not be forgotten that many of the victims came to the UK as children, were born under the British flag, and some arrived on British passports.

The language used about the changing of culture within the Home Office is still of concern. Despite the positive steps that have been taken by the Home Office, the issue is the lack of speed at which changes are coming.

The 2020 report from Wendy Williams, QC contained 30 recommendations for the Home Office to improve its service to become fairer and compassionate when dealing with the people who it is meant to be serving.

The latest review of the report highlights that only eight of the 30 recommendations have been acted upon within the past two years. It would appear on the face of it, and as many would say, that ‘I’m not being taken as seriously as I should’.

The report also noted that no consideration has been given to reviewing the Home Office policy of a ‘hostile environment’, (which was also the cause of the Windrush scandal) despite its impact upon the Windrush generation.

Clearly, more work needs to be done as well to ensure that there is greater reflective governance, particularly in leadership at the Home Office. This was highlighted in the report.

It is clear also that cultural understanding and basic common sense/decency would’ve assisted in avoiding the scandal in the first place.

The poll of applicants taken by Williams also revealed the need for greater customer service skills from the Home Office when dealing with those who have suffered, in some cases, highly traumatic experiences at the hands of the Home Office.

This is nothing new as it is continually highlighted during the Windrush National Organisation’s monthly engagement meetings with the Home Office.

It is clear that we need to have a united voice or a voice of common purpose in dealing with the fallout from the Windrush scandal. This is to ensure that change comes within the Home Office but also in order to ensure that moving forward, we attempt to ‘sing from the same hymn sheet’.

Working with community partners such as the WNO and other community organisations is crucial in this, and it is time that the Home Office embrace their help as a matter of urgency.

Finally, if the Home Office does not change its culture of slowing down tangible change then we could have another scandal in the not-too-distant future. The fallout could even be worse, and all efforts need to be made to ensure that this never happens again.

- Bishop Desmond Jaddoo is chair of the Windrush National Organisation, based in Birmingham.