THE HOME office has “giant steps” to take to change its culture and risks failing the Windrush generation all over again, MPs have warned.

In a damning report published today, the Public Accounts Committee found that Priti Patel’s department could be at risk of appearing indifferent to how the Windrush scandal affected people’s lives.

It also states that despite promising to learn lessons from the scandal, which saw people who came over to help the UK following WWII and their families deported or told they did not have the right to remain in the country, the compensation scheme risks failing them again.

Many lost homes and jobs and were denied access to healthcare and benefits.

 The MPs concluded that there were “fundamental problems” in the scheme’s design and implementation are “coming home to roost”.

Too complex and difficult for people who were affected to engage with, the Home Office also “failed to launch the scheme with adequate capacity to run it, and has played catch-up ever since”, the report says.

It adds that some people have died before their claims were dealt with, and two years after its launch only 412 of the 2,367 claims submitted have received their final payment. 

This was the total figure in June, when the Committee took its evidence, however Home Office minister Kit Malthouse told MPs earlier this month that 732 people had been awarded compensation and £24m had been paid out already, from £32m available.

MPs said the Home Office “made completely wrong key assumptions” in the scheme and significantly underestimated the complexity and work involved in processing the claims.  

The Committee said that it was “encouraging to hear the Department admit to some of its mistakes with the scheme, but it should not have taken two years to reach this point. There is an urgent need to make good on promises to right the wrongs for those who suffered.”

Dame Meg Hillier MP, who chairs the Committee, said: “Let’s not lose sight of the scale of wrongs that the Home Office has promised to right here.

“Lifetimes in this country were discounted, people’s homes, families and livelihoods were interrupted and uprooted, some were forced from the country.

“Some were approaching the end of those lifetimes as this tragedy befell them. Some have died without ever seeing justice or receiving the compensation they deserve.

“Far from learning and applying lessons as promised, the Windrush compensation scheme is beset with the very same issues that led to the initial terrible mistakes.”  

A Home Office spokesman said: “The Home Secretary has been resolute in her determination to put right the wrongs suffered by all those affected by the Windrush scandal.

“Many of the issues raised in this report are already being addressed.

“Last week, we announced further improvements to simplify the application process, new support measures for those claiming on behalf of relatives who have passed away and the removal of the scheme’s end date.

“All designed to ensure every victim receives the compensation they deserve.

“And since December, when the Home Secretary overhauled the scheme, the amount of compensation paid has risen from less than £3 million to almost £27 million, whilst a further £7.1 million has been offered.”