‘This week the House of Commons heard the second reading of the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill 2020 (the Immigration Bill), and given the Government’s majority it is likely to become law unamended. The Explanatory Notes of the Bill set out inter alia the Government’s intention to deliver, following the end of EU free movement, a “new points-based immigration system to attract the brightest and best talent from around the world” from 1st January 2021. On the face of it, this is a legitimate aim, but what could be the possible implications for immigrants currently living and working in the UK? An important report that understandably did not receive much media attention when it was published on the 19th March 2020, is the Windrush, Lessons Learned Review (the Review), the independent assessment of the events leading up to the Windrush Scandal. One needs to recollect that, as the Review notes, the Windrush Scandal affected “hundreds, and possibly thousands of people, directly or indirectly”, including at least 83 people who were unlawfully removed. Many of those affected were working in so-called lower-skilled occupations, in the NHS, in public transport and in adult social care. The Review provides 30 recommendations for change and improvement within the Home Office in order to avoid a repetition of the Windrush Scandal, which it recommends should be implemented in full. A formal response to the Review, including the recommendations, was accepted by the Home Secretary to be given within six months, including the asking of “difficult questions needed to ensure that these circumstances can never arise again”.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 27th May 2020

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk