Community organisations can apply for a share of £600,000 to help people affected by the Windrush scandal make and pursue compensation claims, the Home Office has announced.
The funding is for advocacy services in the 2027–28 financial year. It is money for organisations providing support, rather than a new pot of compensation paid directly to individual claimants.
Advocates can help people understand the process, explain what happened to them and gather information for a claim. Support can continue from preparing an application through to accepting a decision or requesting a review, according to the Home Office announcement.
Many members of the Windrush generation and their families were wrongly treated as having no right to live in the UK. People lost jobs, were denied access to services or faced detention and removal as a result of the scandal.
Thousands of claims closed without compensation
The support comes against a backdrop of concerns about people receiving no compensation. A House of Commons Library briefing reported that, by March 2026, 6,239 of 9,495 fully closed claims had been found ineligible or assessed as entitled to no compensation. Those categories do not establish that every refusal was wrongful.
In a separate review of figures to January, the National Audit Office said the Home Office attributed some nil awards to applicants whose losses fell outside the scheme or who had not suffered financial detriment. The watchdog also reported the Windrush Commissioner’s concern that the high number of nil awards could retraumatise claimants and undermine trust.
How the funding works
The latest allocation is the third year of the Windrush Compensation Advocacy Support Fund, which the Home Office says is worth £1.5 million over three years. The department says lessons from the first two years, along with feedback from the Windrush Commissioner and community organisations, have informed the new round.
The Office of the Windrush Commissioner says the fund supports independent, culturally sensitive help for people who may need additional assistance with their applications.
Deadline and information sessions
Applications for the funding opened on 9 November and close at 5pm on Friday 4 December 2026. The Home Office is holding online information sessions for interested organisations on 17 November at 10am and 19 November at 1pm.
Organisations can check the requirements and apply through the government’s Find a Grant page. The 4 December deadline applies to the funding competition for organisations, not to individual compensation claims. The compensation scheme has no deadline. People seeking compensation should use the Windrush Compensation Scheme guidance.
Sources used for this report5 verified links
- Home Office: £600,000 boost for Windrush compensation support
- Find a Grant: Windrush Compensation Advocacy Support Fund 2027–28
- Office of the Windrush Commissioner: Year 3 competition
- House of Commons Library: Windrush Compensation Scheme
- National Audit Office: Government compensation and financial recognition schemes
