The government is expected to introduce new regulation to prevent members of the Windrush generation losing out on the financial support they are entitled to, after fears that claiming compensation could lead to a loss of benefits.

In response to the threat of legal action, officials have stated in internal documents that regulations will be introduced “in due course” to ensure those currently receiving means-tested benefits do not lose out on them if they get compensation payouts over the Home Office’s “hostile environment” rules.

However, despite the documents seen by the Guardian, no new regulations have yet been published, meaning continued uncertainty for those who might be affected.

Lawyers have expressed concern that people from the Windrush generation entitled to compensation because of their treatment by the Home Office could be “punished twice” under the current benefit rules and have called on the government to announce the changes publicly.

As the current rules stand, some could lose means-tested benefits payments if they benefit from the Windrush compensation scheme announced last month.

Solicitor Jane Ryan from Bhatt Murphy, who is representing several Windrush people, said: “Windrush claimants have already suffered as a consequence of the discriminatory hostile environment policies; they should not be placed in a worse position for seeking redress. It is welcome that the Home Office has clarified its position but until the regulations are public there remains a risk that Windrush claimants supported by means-tested benefits will be unfairly treated. The government needs to publish the regulations as soon as possible.”

There are some parallels with the Grenfell compensation scheme where DWP came under pressure to allow survivors to continue to access benefits irrespective of payouts.

Q&A What is the Windrush deportation crisis? Show Who are the Windrush generation? They are people who arrived in the UK after the second world war from Caribbean countries at the invitation of the British government. The first group arrived on the ship MV Empire Windrush in June 1948. What happened to them? An estimated 50,000 people faced the risk of deportation if they had never formalised their residency status and did not have the required documentation to prove it. Why now? It stems from a policy, set out by Theresa May when she was home secretary, to make the UK 'a really hostile environment for illegal immigrants'. It requires employers, NHS staff, private landlords and other bodies to demand evidence of people’s citizenship or immigration status. Why do they not have the correct paperwork and status? Some children, often travelling on their parents’ passports, were never formally naturalised and many moved to the UK before the countries in which they were born became independent, so they assumed they were British. In some cases, they did not apply for passports. The Home Office did not keep a record of people entering the country and granted leave to remain, which was conferred on anyone living continuously in the country since before 1 January 1973. What did the government try and do to resolve the problem? A Home Office team was set up to ensure Commonwealth-born long-term UK residents would no longer find themselves classified as being in the UK illegally. But a month after one minister promised the cases would be resolved within two weeks, many remained destitute. In November 2018 home secretary Sajid Javid revealed that at least 11 Britons who had been wrongly deported had died. In April 2019 the government agreed to pay up to £200m in compensation. Photograph: Douglas Miller/Hulton Archive

In a legal letter to the government, Ryan draws comparisons with the Grenfell situation.

The letter states that government officials “will be aware that an award of damages may render clients … ineligible for benefits. We are aware that the Treasury agreed payments from Kensington & Chelsea Council to compensate claimants in respect of Grenfell Tower were agreed to be disregarded for the purposes of means-tested benefits. We would be grateful if you would confirm that awards of compensation will be disregarded by the DWP as regards eligibility for means-tested benefits.”

The internal letter from the government’s legal department states: “HM Treasury has agreed that payments made under the Windrush Compensation Scheme … can be disregarded on an extra-statutory basis in the calculation of DWP means-tested benefits.”

Jacqueline McKenzie of Mckenzie Beute and Pope Solicitors and a member of Windrush Action, said that many of the people she’s working with are vulnerable and reliant on benefits.

“We’ve been very concerned about how compensation will impact on future benefits,” she said. “Some people have been put off making claims under the Windrush compensation scheme as they are concerned they may end up worse off if they lose benefits. There is still much to be sorted out with the Windrush compensation scheme and the government’s failure to change some of the problem areas and the slow pace things are moving at show that the Windrush generation continue to be treated with contempt,” she said.

A Government spokesperson said: “It has been confirmed publically that payments made under the Windrush compensation scheme and the Windrush hardship scheme will not affect the calculation of means-tested benefits.”