Manchester City Council notes that:

 

The 2014 Immigration Act has had a huge negative effect on the Windrush Generation and their descendants in Manchester.

 

People have been affected by the Windrush scandal even if they had legal status, such as those who came to Britain from Commonwealth countries before 1973 and their descendants.

 

They and their descendants have been subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment including deportation, loss of employment, housing and services including the denial of prompt medical treatment.

 

Lord Kerslake, the former head of the Civil Service, told BBC’s Newsnight that some in government had warned that the way the 2014 Act worked was ‘almost reminiscent of Nazi Germany’.

 

Manchester City Council believes that:

 

Home Office officials have frequently used the Hostile Environment legislation to deprive migrants of their right to live and work in the UK even if they have legal status.

 

The Windrush Compensation Scheme has not been effective enough in compensating all victims for their losses and is being unreasonably slow to pay out.

 

Many of the current problems have their roots in the racist 1971 Immigration Act which ended the right of people from the British Commonwealth to obtain UK citizenship unless they had a parent or grandparent with UK citizenship. This ensured that many white people in the Commonwealth could come to the UK but denied the same rights to most black people from the same countries. The right of abode should be restored to the Windrush Generation who lived in the UK and their descendants.

 

The use of the UK Borders Act 2007 to automatically deport people who have been sentenced to twelve months or more is racist, as it disproportionately impacts black immigrants (who routinely suffer longer sentences than white people committing the same offences ), and has led to people being deported to countries they left as children and where they have no connections, often leaving behind their families.

 

The Nationalities and Borders Bill creates a second-tier category of British citizenship as Clause 10 of the bill allows the Home Secretary to strip a naturalised Brit of their citizenship without any notice at all and without providing any rationale for the decision.

 

There is need of a lead member who can focus on understanding the legislation and through direct contact with individuals and community organisations how it impacts on our residents. A Windrush Lead can also inform and support the work of the Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods, who has begun to reach out to the communities impacted, but whose wide ranging portfolio prevents her from the time required to make this work a priority. Especially during the looming Cost of Living Crisis foisted on our residents by the same evil Tory government who also created the Windrush Scandal that we wish to ameliorate.

 

Manchester City Council therefore resolves:

 

1.         To campaign for a Windrush Act which:

 

·           Places a duty on public bodies to reduce race disparities for outcomes in their work as exposed by the Government’s Race Disparity Audit

·           Establishes a commonwealth community cohesion fund for the development of projects in the UK and the Commonwealth to tackle disparities and rebuild social and economic ties of communities damaged by the Windrush scandal

 

2.         To campaign for legislation ending the Hostile Environment

 

3.         To campaign for a judge-led independent Public Inquiry into the circumstances which led to the treatment of the Windrush Generation

 

4.         To campaign against the deportations resulting from racist immigration legislation

 

5.         To raise our awareness of the impact of the new Nationalities and Borders bill on our communities, with a special emphasis on the impact on our diverse Muslim communities.

 

6.         To appoint a Windrush Lead on the council who will

 

·           advocate for families impacted by Windrush and current legislation

·           ensure that the resolution from this motion are implemented 

·           provide a first point of support for Manchester victims of the Windrush scandal and the Nationalities and Borders bill

·           Support a network of legal, social and voluntary sector organisations to provide an effective service for Manchester people affected by the Windrush Scandal and the Nationalities and Borders bill. To include, for example

o      The ground breaking work of Anthony Brown, Windrush Defender

o      The advice work being done by Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit

o      The Greater Manchester Law Centre working in partnership with the Greater Manchester Tenants Union and GMIAU

 

Proposed by Councillor Bayunu, seconded by Councillor Good and supported by Councillors Johnson, Leech and Nunney.

Councillor Bayunu submitted the following motion, which was seconded by Councillor Good:-

 

Manchester City Council notes that:

 

The 2014 Immigration Act has had a huge negative effect on the Windrush Generation and their descendants in Manchester.

 

People have been affected by the Windrush scandal even if they had legal status, such as those who came to Britain from Commonwealth countries before 1973 and their descendants.

 

They and their descendants have been subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment including deportation, loss of employment, housing and services including the denial of prompt medical treatment.

 

Lord Kerslake, the former head of the Civil Service, told BBC’s Newsnight that some in government had warned that the way the 2014 Act worked was ‘almost reminiscent of Nazi Germany’.

 

Manchester City Council believes that:

 

Home Office officials have frequently used the Hostile Environment legislation to deprive migrants of their right to live and work in the UK even if they have legal status.

 

The Windrush Compensation Scheme has not been effective enough in compensating all victims for their losses and is being unreasonably slow to pay out.

 

Many of the current problems have their roots in the racist 1971 Immigration Act which ended the right of people from the British Commonwealth to obtain UK citizenship unless they had a parent or grandparent with UK citizenship. This ensured that many white people in the Commonwealth could come to the UK but denied the same rights to most black people from the same countries. The right of abode should be restored to the Windrush Generation who lived in the UK and their descendants.

 

The use of the UK Borders Act 2007 to automatically deport people who have been sentenced to twelve months or more is racist, as it disproportionately impacts black immigrants (who routinely suffer longer sentences than white people committing the same offences ), and has led to people being deported to countries they left as children and where they have no connections, often leaving behind their families.

 

The Nationalities and Borders Bill creates a second-tier category of British citizenship as Clause 10 of the bill allows the Home Secretary to strip a naturalised Brit of their citizenship without any notice at all and without providing any rationale for the decision.

 

There is need of a lead member who can focus on understanding the legislation and through direct contact with individuals and community organisations how it impacts on our residents. A Windrush Lead can also inform and support the work of the Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods, who has begun to reach out to the communities impacted, but whose wide ranging portfolio prevents her from the time required to make this work a priority. Especially during the looming Cost of Living Crisis foisted on our residents by the same evil Tory government who also created the Windrush Scandal that we wish to ameliorate.

 

Manchester City Council therefore resolves:

 

1.         To campaign for a Windrush Act which:

 

·           Places a duty on public bodies to reduce race disparities for outcomes in their work as exposed by the Government’s Race Disparity Audit

·           Establishes a commonwealth community cohesion fund for the development of projects in the UK and the Commonwealth to tackle disparities and rebuild social and economic ties of communities damaged by the Windrush scandal

 

2.         To campaign for legislation ending the Hostile Environment

 

3.         To campaign for a judge-led independent Public Inquiry into the circumstances which led to the treatment of the Windrush Generation

 

4.         To campaign against the deportations resulting from racist immigration legislation

 

5.         To raise our awareness of the impact of the new Nationalities and Borders bill on our communities, with a special emphasis on the impact on our diverse Muslim communities.

 

6.         To appoint a Windrush Lead on the council who will

 

·                Advocate for families impacted by Windrush and current legislation

·                Ensure that the resolution from this motion are implemented 

·                provide a first point of support for Manchester victims of the Windrush scandal and the Nationalities and Borders bill

·                Support a network of legal, social and voluntary sector organisations to provide an effective service for Manchester people affected by the Windrush Scandal and the Nationalities and Borders bill. To include, for example

·           The groundbreaking work of Anthony Brown, Windrush Defender

·           The advice work being done by Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit

·           The Greater Manchester Law Centre working in partnership with the Greater Manchester Tenants Union and GMIAU

 

Councillor Igbon submitted the following amendment to the motion which was seconded by Councillor Rahman:-

 

Manchester City Council notes that:

 

1.            The 2014 Immigration Act has had a huge negative effect on the Windrush Generation and their descendants in Manchester. The 2014 Immigration Act was supported by the Liberal Democrats in the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government.

 

2.            People have been affected by the Windrush scandal even if they had legal status, such as those who came to Britain from Commonwealth countries before 1973 and their descendants.

 

3.         They and their descendants have been subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment including deportation, loss of employment, housing and services including the denial of prompt medical treatment.

 

Manchester City Council Further notes:

 

4.         Manchester is forever grateful for the contributions of the Windrush Generation to our city and our nation. These courageous men and women came to the UK and contributed not only to our post-war economic recovery but to all facets of social, cultural, and political life. The Council has long celebrated the contribution that the Windrush Generation have made to our city and the UK as a whole.

 

5.         Manchester stands with the Windrush Generation, and all who have been affected by the scandalous treatment of the Windrush Generation by the British Government. They and their families have been put through appalling stress, hardship, and indignity and it is inexcusable that so few have received support through the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

 

6.         Home Office officials have frequently used the Hostile Environment legislation to deprive migrants of their right to live and work in the UK even if they have legal status.

 

7.         The Windrush Compensation Scheme has not been effective enough in compensating all victims for their losses and is being unreasonably slow to pay out. Unfortunately, as of the end of February 2022, only 24% of the initially estimated 15,000 eligible claimants had applied to the scheme and only 6% had received compensation. At least 23 people have died before they received any compensation for the hardship they endured at the hands of the Home Office.

 

8.         The National Audit Office has said the scheme is “not meeting its objective of compensating claimants quickly”. Last year, the cross-party Home Affairs Committee outlined a litany of flaws in the design and operation of the scheme including “an excessive burden on claimants to provide documentary evidence of losses, long delays in processing, poor communication and inadequate staffing.”

 

9.         To recognise the work that this Council has taken in showing our support for our Windrush Communities, such as the Executive Report in 2019 which allowed flexibility to grant a discount for Council Tax payers liable for Council Tax in the city who claim Council Tax Support or have been receiving an amount of Council Tax Support but whose entitlement is reduced or extinguished as a result of a payment from the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

 

The Council resolves:

 

·                Through the Executive Member for Equalities and the Council Lead Members for Race continue to work alongside Manchester MPs to call for justice for all of those who have been impacted, including legislation such as a Windrush Act to right the Government’s wrongs.

·                That the Executive, Lead Members for Race and local Councillors to continue to work with community groups and community campaigners to ensure local groups are supported.

·                To continue to celebrate the contribution of our communities and continue to commemorate Windrush Day.

·                To re-state our opposition to the Government’s Hostile Environment policies and call on legislation to redress them.

·                To call upon the Government to urgently review and fix the inadequate Compensation Scheme, and through Manchester’s Labour MPs to radically reform the scheme and to support calls to move the compensation Scheme to an independent body.

·                To signpost residents to free legal aid and support to Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit -Windrush legal initiative and Windrush defenders and provide designated spaces and information across the city.

 

Resolution

 

The amendment to the motion was put to the Council and the Lord Mayor declared it carried. The amended motion then became the substantive motion.

 

The substantive motion was then put to the Council and the Lord Mayor declared it carried.

 

Decision

 

This Council resolves:-

 

(1)      Through the Executive Member for Equalities and the Council Lead Members for Race continue to work alongside Manchester MPs to call for justice for all of those who have been impacted, including legislation such as a Windrush Act to right the Government’s wrongs.

 

(2)      That the Executive, Lead Members for Race and local Councillors to continue to work with community groups and community campaigners to ensure local groups are supported.

 

(3)      To continue to celebrate the contribution of our communities and continue to commemorate Windrush Day.

 

(4)      To re-state our opposition to the Government’s Hostile Environment policies and call on legislation to redress them.

 

(5)      To call upon the Government to urgently review and fix the inadequate Compensation Scheme, and through Manchester’s Labour MPs to radically reform the scheme and to support calls to move the compensation Scheme to an independent body.

 

(6)      To signpost residents to free legal aid and support to Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit -Windrush legal initiative and Windrush defenders and provide designated spaces and information across the city.