Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on granting retrospective pension arrangements to Gurkha veterans who served in the armed forces.

The Government greatly values the contribution that Gurkhas make in support of the UK’s security and defence and takes its responsibilities to our Gurkha veterans very seriously.

The legal basis for Gurkha pensions has been upheld by three Judicial Reviews since 2003, including a case that went to the European Court of Human Rights in 2018. The Government maintains that the 1948 Gurkha Pension Scheme continues to provide a good income for our Gurkha veterans living in Nepal, in accordance with the original scheme design.

The Government remains committed to supporting Gurkhas and their families during and after their service with the British Army, as demonstrated by the increase in funding via the Gurkha Welfare Trust, including a £24 million uplift to the medical and healthcare Grant-in-Aid already in place and an extension in principle to that Grant in Aid beyond 2029.

We remain open to conversations about what more could be done to meet the welfare needs of Gurkhas, in both the UK and in Nepal. As the Minister for Veterans and People, I am looking forward to meeting the Nepali Ambassador in the coming weeks.