For the last year I have been working with the House of Commons All Party Group on Gurkha Welfare, to bring forward recommendations to give greater support to retired Gurkhas and to investigate some specific concerns that they have raised about their treatment. At the end of last week the Ministry of Defence published its formal response, in which it highlighted “the nation’s gratitude to the Gurkha community for their service” and stated its belief that measures “should be put in place to ensure that all Gurkha veterans have the opportunity to live in retirement with the further support and gratitude of the British Government.”
One of the main areas of concern raised by the Gurkha community is that those who served and retired before 2007 did so on different terms and conditions to other parts of the army. This was largely because Gurkhas historically served and were stationed in the Far East, and it was expected that when they retired they would do so in Nepal. Whilst Gurkha pensions would provide a good standard of living in Nepal, they are low compared to the rates received by a retired British solider in the United Kingdom. This has been of special concern since 2009, when all retired Gurkhas were given the right to settle in this country.
Some people have called for the retrospective equalisation all pension entitlements for those who retired from the army before 2007, but this is difficult as the two schemes are so different. For example, Gurkha pensions were based on the contributions made during 15 years of service, whilst the British Armed Forces pension is based on 22 years. However, the Government has accepted my recommendation, made through the All Party Group, that we should use some of the money raised from fines on the banking industry to support retired Gurkhas, just as we currently do for other service charities. As a result the Gurkha Welfare Trust will receive a further £5 million in new funding for their work with retired servicemen living in Britain and Nepal. The government is also providing over £900,000 from the Veterans Accommodation Fund to Gurkha Homes Ltd towards the provision of affordable homes for Gurkha veterans.
In addition to this, those retired Gurkhas who believed that they lost out financially after they transferred their pension into the general armed forces scheme in 2008, can apply to the Ministry of Defence to have their case reviewed. There will also be compensation for retired Gurkhas who were required to leave the brigade early, after marriage to a non-Nepalese. This rule was not abolished until the early 1990s and should never had been in place.
2015 marks the 200th anniversary of the friendly relations between Britain and Nepal and it makes it particularly appropriate that the government should consider a settlement on these issues now. Whilst it has not been possible to address all of the concerns raised by the Nepalese community during our parliamentary inquiry, this does represent the best settlement and highest level of financial support that has ever been available to ex-Gurkhas and their families.
