As the Chairman of the all Party Group on Gurkha welfare I welcomed the Government’s response to the Inquiry into Gurkha grievances.
The inquiry to look at the outstanding grievances of the Gurkha veterans following lengthy campaigns regarding pensions including the hunger strike of 2013.
The All Party group made a number of recommendations some of which have been accepted by the Government.
These include:
- A commitment to pay Gurkha pensions at double the rate of those enjoyed by Indian Gurkhas
- £5m from LIBOR fines to the Gurkha Welfare Trust to fund healthcare and for support for veterans in Nepal
- £1m to build affordable homes for Gurkha veterans in the UK
- Changes to immigration rules to enable more adult children of Gurkha veterans to settle in the UK
- A fund to compensate those who were forced to leave the army because they married non-Nepalese
Our recommendations were agreed on a genuinely cross party basis. I am disappointed that the Government did not accept our recommendations regarding National Insurance and the Brunei management deduction, but I am pleased that the Government has committed more funds to support Gurkha veterans in Nepal.
The All Party group were also appalled that Gurkhas who married non-Nepalese were forced to leave the British army. We believe this to be totally incompatible with British values. I am pleased that the Government has agreed to compensate those affected.
In seeking to address the Gurkha grievances we have done so on the basis of what is fair to them and fair to British service personnel. I believe that the Gurkhas have been misled by the human rights lobby to believe that their case for retrospective changes to their pensions is stronger than it is. I will continue to campaign for fair treatment of Gurkhas and to make sure that the Government continues to honour its obligations to those who have served in the British army.
I would like to pay tribute to the way in which the Gurkhas have engaged with this inquiry. This year sees the 200 year anniversary of Gurkha service in the British army. I look forward to the next 200 years.
The Government’s response to the All Party group report can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-an-inquiry-into-gurkha-welfare