Home Office making little progress, 18 months on from committing to change after Windrush

As one of the organisation’s that helped bring the scandal to light, and a contributor to the recently-published review, Praxis is not surprised by many of Williams’ findings, which are entirely consistent with our experiences of interacting with the Home Office.   

Josephine Whitaker-Yilmaz, Praxis’ Policy and Public Affairs Manager, said: 

We are disappointed, but not surprised, by the picture that emerges from Wendy Williams’ review of the Home Office’s glacial progress in implementing many of her recommendations, which is lacking in senior leadership and focused more on processes than outcomes.  

We recognise the picture painted by the review of a Department that is failing to embed a more compassionate approach to working with the communities it is meant to serve. We know all too well from our day to day advice work that the Home Office routinely fails to see our clients as human beings first and foremost. Inconsistency remains one of the defining characteristics of Home Office decision making.   

We are also deeply concerned that no progress has been made in reviewing the hostile environment, which continues to cause significant harm to so many people across our communities. Such a review is critical to holding the Home Office to account for the detriment its policies cause, and to creating meaningful change.  

In light of the Department’s future direction of travel, as illustrated by the Nationality and Borders Bill for example, it’s difficult to escape the conclusion that little has fundamentally changed at the Home Office since the Windrush Scandal devastated so many lives.