The Home Office has released the long‑awaited Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) setting out the powers and operating framework of the Windrush Commissioner, a document that reveals a tightly managed relationship in which the Home Office retains significant control over the Office of the Commissioner intended to scrutinise it.
The MoU was signed on 22 January and published earlier this week only after journalists began raising questions about the Commissioner’s independence, including concerns highlighted in a recent JamRadio exclusive interview with Immigration Minister Mike Tapp. Its late arrival has drawn attention to the timing as much as the content, prompting scrutiny of why a governance framework of this importance was not published at the outset of the Commissioner’s tenure.
Bishop Desmond Jadoo - Chair of the Windrush National Organisation (WNO), presented Mike Tapp MP - Minister of State for Migration and Citizenship (right) with a Windrush borad game at the WNO's annual conference. Image credit: George Brown
Although the MoU repeatedly states that the Commissioner “operates independently,” the operational arrangements show a structure in which the Home Office maintains influence over key aspects of the role. The Commissioner cannot publish non‑public information obtained from the department without first securing Home Office agreement. This requirement applies to data, documents and internal material that may be central to assessing the performance of the Windrush Compensation and Status Schemes.
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Ship Away - Windrush board game - by Patricia Jones
The Home Office also retains control over the Commissioner’s budget. Funding is not delegated, meaning the department decides the size of the Commissioner’s annual allocation and must approve any overspend. Recruitment of staff remains dependent on Home Office approval, including external hiring. These arrangements give the Home Office the ability to shape the Commissioner’s capacity, staffing and operational reach.
The MoU also sets out an unusual appraisal process: the Commissioner’s annual review is conducted by a senior Home Office official. The department under scrutiny is responsible for assessing the performance of the body responsibile for scrutinising it. A clear conflict where the Home Office marks it's own homework.
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Ship Away - Windrush board game - by Patricia Jones
Access to legal advice is also routed through the Home Office. If the Commissioner requires legal guidance on matters connected to the department’s work, he must first seek advice from the Windrush Unit inside the home Office. External legal advice may be sought only in cases of significant disagreement, and even then, the cost must be approved through Home Office budget processes. This structure may limit the Commissioner’s ability to obtain independent legal interpretation on contentious issues.
The MoU’s data‑sharing protocol sets out a detailed process for requesting information. Each request must be justified in writing, and the Home Office decides whether the information is “necessary” and whether it can be published. Sensitive material requires senior official or ministerial approval. While the protocol provides a formal route for data access, it also places the Commissioner in a position of complete dependency (by request) on the department for the information required to carry out effective scrutiny over its failings.
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In short, the provisions outline a framework in which the Commissioner relies on the Home Office, the very department which orchestrated the windrush Scandal for resources, staffing, legal advice, data access and publication approval. The MoU’s language emphasises independence, but the mechanisms governing the role reflect a model in which the department retains significant control over the Commissioner’s ability to operate autonomously.
For Windrush survivors and families, many of whom continue to navigate the Compensation and Status Schemes, the Commissioner was presented as a “trusted voice” for victims and affected communities, intended to provide oversight and ensure accountability.
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The Home Office has described the MoU as a standard governance document. However, the combination of its late publication and the degree of departmental control it outlines raises important questions about the practical independence of the Commissioner’s office. As scrutiny of the Windrush Schemes continues, the effectiveness of the Commissioner’s oversight will be shaped not only by the role’s mandate but by the structures that determine how freely it can be exercised.
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