To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has fully implemented all recommendations from the Independent Windrush Lessons Learned Review; and what assessment she has made of her Department's recent actions of writing to UK nationals incorrectly asking them to apply for settled status on complying with those recommendations.
Answered on
26 May 2021
I am committed to deliver lasting and meaningful change across the entire Home Office so that it represents all the communities it serves. Work continues at pace to implement all the recommendations in the Windrush Lessons Learned Review as well as wider cultural change in the department to fully address the findings of the report. We are putting people at the heart of the reforms we are making in the Department and Wendy Williams will return to the department to review progress in September when I am confident she will see significant progress in delivering her recommendations.
In line with the lessons learnt from Windrush, we have designed the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to ensure it is accessible to all those who are eligible and is focussed on providing an easy and user-friendly way for individuals to make an application.
This includes using every possible channel to encourage everyone who is eligible for the EUSS to apply. The Home Office is currently working with HMRC and DWP to send letters to EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who receive benefits, but it appears are yet to apply to the EUSS. These letters seek to encourage recipients to apply to the EUSS to protect their existing rights in the UK before the deadline of 30 June 2021.
In trying to reach as many people as possible, there may be a small number of instances where these letters are sent to recipients who are naturalised as a British citizen. The letter may also be received by a small number of individuals who have already applied to the EUSS, for example because they applied after the initial exercise with DWP or HMRC was completed, but before the letter was sent out. The letter makes clear that anyone who is a British citizen or already has EUSS status does not need to take any action.
As of 30 April 2021, 4.9m grants of status had been made. The Home Office urges anyone eligible for the EUSS to apply before the 30 June deadline to ensure their rights are protected following the end of the grace period.