Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Gurkha veterans who served prior to 2007 receive pension benefits lower than those received by British Army personnel with equivalent rank and length of service.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government greatly values the exceptional and longstanding contribution made by Gurkha soldiers to the United Kingdom. Since 2007, Gurkhas have received the same pension under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme as the rest of the UK Armed Forces. For those who served prior to 2007, for the large majority, the 1948 Gurkha Pension Scheme provides a pension at least as good, and in many cases better, than that given to their British counterparts with identical periods of service.
Whilst Defence recognises that the position on historic Gurkha pension arrangements is a source of grievance for some members of the Gurkha community, it should be noted that both the Government and Courts consider that the arrangements are fair and were designed to reflect the context of the period during which scheme was open. In addition, a key principle for public service pensions, maintained by governments over many decades is that no retrospective improvements are made to pensions in payment. To do so would mean that improvements of any kind would become unaffordable for Government.
While we are unable to change the terms of the Gurkha Pension Scheme, I am committed to listening to concerns directly and exploring alternative ways to meet the welfare needs of the Gurkha veteran community, both in the UK and Nepal. On 16 December 2025, I met with officials from the Government of Nepal and representatives of the G10 to discuss Gurkha welfare issues. These discussions reinforced the strong and ongoing collaboration between the Ministry of Defence and the Gurkha veteran community. I have asked officials to meet again with Gurkha representatives early this year, and I look forward to continuing dialogue with the Government of Nepal in the spring.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to review the 1948 Gurkha Pension Scheme to ensure parity with the Armed Forces Pension Scheme for all pre-2007 Gurkha veterans.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government greatly values the exceptional and longstanding contribution made by Gurkha soldiers to the United Kingdom. Since 2007, Gurkhas have received the same pension under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme as the rest of the UK Armed Forces. For those who served prior to 2007, for the large majority, the 1948 Gurkha Pension Scheme provides a pension at least as good, and in many cases better, than that given to their British counterparts with identical periods of service.
Whilst Defence recognises that the position on historic Gurkha pension arrangements is a source of grievance for some members of the Gurkha community, it should be noted that both the Government and Courts consider that the arrangements are fair and were designed to reflect the context of the period during which scheme was open. In addition, a key principle for public service pensions, maintained by governments over many decades is that no retrospective improvements are made to pensions in payment. To do so would mean that improvements of any kind would become unaffordable for Government.
While we are unable to change the terms of the Gurkha Pension Scheme, I am committed to listening to concerns directly and exploring alternative ways to meet the welfare needs of the Gurkha veteran community, both in the UK and Nepal. On 16 December 2025, I met with officials from the Government of Nepal and representatives of the G10 to discuss Gurkha welfare issues. These discussions reinforced the strong and ongoing collaboration between the Ministry of Defence and the Gurkha veteran community. I have asked officials to meet again with Gurkha representatives early this year, and I look forward to continuing dialogue with the Government of Nepal in the spring.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the longest wait has been for a tribunal date to be set to appeal decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Waiting times are calculated from receipt of the appeal to the final disposal decision. The final outcome of any appeal is not necessarily achieved at its first listed hearing so we are unable to extract data about waiting times for tribunal hearing dates.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average wait is for a tribunal date to be set to appeal decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Waiting times are calculated from receipt of the appeal to the final disposal decision. The final outcome of any appeal is not necessarily achieved at its first listed hearing so we are unable to extract data about waiting times for tribunal hearing dates.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the longest time it has taken was for a case to be assigned a caseworker at the Independent Case Examiner in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The average time taken from complaint receipt to allocation to an investigator (based on cases in investigation on 31 January 2026) was 26.62 weeks. Despite increased demand levels, this is a significant improvement compared to January 2024, when the average wait time was 56.08 weeks.
Of those cases in investigation on 31 January 2026, the case which had waited the longest took 45.29 weeks to be allocated to an investigator from the date it was received at ICE.
The Independent Case Examiner’s office continually seeks to improve further.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time was for a case to be assigned a caseworker at the Independent Case Examiner in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The average time taken from complaint receipt to allocation to an investigator (based on cases in investigation on 31 January 2026) was 26.62 weeks. Despite increased demand levels, this is a significant improvement compared to January 2024, when the average wait time was 56.08 weeks.
Of those cases in investigation on 31 January 2026, the case which had waited the longest took 45.29 weeks to be allocated to an investigator from the date it was received at ICE.
The Independent Case Examiner’s office continually seeks to improve further.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is she taking to ensure school buildings are adequately maintained for future use.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government has published its education estates strategy backed by a 10 year plan to deliver a decade of renewal to transform schools and colleges in England. It is supported by unprecedented long-term funding through to 2034/35. We are investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance for schools and colleges, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.
We are also launching a new Renewal and Retrofit Programme, backed by over £700 million to 2029/30, to improve the condition of school and college buildings, increase resilience to climate change and protect schools from flooding so buildings can last for decades to come and are net zero ready. The Programme will start with schools in the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber and the South East, and will be expanded from 2027 to other regions in England. We will set out further details in due course on how schools and colleges join the programme from 2027.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has she made of the adequacy of school buildings in Surrey.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department supports local authorities, academy trusts and other bodies responsible for keeping school buildings safe and operational by providing condition funding, guidance and advice.
The Education Estates Strategy sets out our 10-year plan to deliver a decade of renewal to transform schools and colleges, supported by £38 billion investment in education capital to 2029/30 and unprecedented long-term funding, with £3 billion per year by 2034/35 into capital maintenance in addition to almost £20 billion in the School Rebuilding Programme. There are over 500 schools already in the programme, including 6 in Surrey.
The department collects consistent data on the condition of the school and college estate, which helps inform capital policy and programmes. The full data from the Condition Data Collection (CDC1) programme from 2017 to 2019 is presented at regional level in the House of Commons library here: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/files.
A summary of the data can be accessed in the CDC1 key findings report here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-data-collection-2-cdc2-programme. The successor programme, Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2), will provide an update on the condition of the government funded school buildings.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her department has made of the adequacy of the Government’s sanctions decisions following United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We keep the impact of all UK sanctions designations under constant review.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of Plan Two Student Loans on people’s ability to afford housing.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government is committed to improving the affordability of housing, and making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible.
Student loan repayments are taken into account as part of affordability assessments for mortgage applications, but student loans are very different from a mortgage or credit card debt, as repayments are determined by income, not the amount borrowed. For example, a Plan 2 graduate earning £30,000 will repay only around £4 a month in FY2026–27.
The most sustainable long-term method to improve housing affordability and help people into homeownership is to increase the supply of housing. This Government has recommitted to delivering 1.5 million homes over this Parliament.