The Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday that there will be 400
redundancies in the Gurkhas; a cut of just over 10%. This is one of a
number of reductions of posts being made across the armed forces. The
reason given by the Ministry of Defence for the loss of Gurkhas posts
is that because they have continued to both recruit strongly, and now
serve individually up to 22 years instead of the previous limit of 15
years, that there are currently more men serving than had been planned
for. Nevertheless, I have written to Phillip Hammond the Defence
Secretary, asking him explain why these redundancies are being made at
a time when we seem to need the Gurkhas more than ever and to reaffirm
his commitment to the regiment. In addition I have asked in which
locations in the UK and around the world that the redundancies will
take place, and over what period of time.
Any loss of posts in the armed forces is regrettable, and we will
always have a special concern about any reduction in the number of
Gurkhas; we rightly feel that they are our regiment. During the
defence review last year, I along with other East Kent MPs pressed the
case to the Secretary of State that the Gurkhas are now and must
remain of vital importance to our armed forces. They have fulfilled an
unique role in the conflict in Afghanistan in particular where they
have conducted four tours of duty. This argument for the Gurkhas has
been won, and whilst we may have concerns about the reduction in
numbers being proposed, there is no question that the regiment will
not continue in the service of our country for many years to come.
On Wednesday this week I met with Alex King, the Deputy Leader of Kent
County Council to discuss the work of an organisation called ‘Funding
Circle’ which provides an alternative funding route for businesses
looking to raise money to support investment. Along with a group of
MPs, I met with Funding Circle before Christmas to discuss their work
and how if might benefit businesses and investors in Kent. The
difficult economic climate still makes raising money to support
business growth a challenge. Funding Circle works by looking to marry
up individuals who would like to invest directly in a company, and in
so doing get a better return than putting their money in the bank,
with organisations who are looking to borrow. I think this model works
particularly well on a local level where investors already have a good
understanding of the market and economic conditions. There are other
organisations that specialise in this kind of non-bank lending, but
you can find about Funding Circle at their website
www.fundingcircle.com
I was very impressed to read about the success of the Folkestone
Academy, in being assessed as being in the top 1% in the country for
the progress its students make during the course of their time at the
school. This is an excellent achievement, and an amazing turnaround
since it replaced the Channel School, which at the time has some of
the worst results in the country. My congratulations go to the
Principal Sean Heslop, and all of the staff and students at the
school