Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with (a) the Nepalese Government and (b) Gurkha veteran representatives on bringing pensions for Gurkha soldiers who retired before 1997 in line with the standard British Army pension.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK Government greatly values the Gurkhas’ long and distinguished history of service in our Armed Forces and remains committed to supporting the welfare of Gurkha Veterans and their families in both the UK and Nepal.
In March 2025, I met with the Nepali Ambassador H.E. Chandra Ghimire for a productive discussion that reflected our shared commitment to strengthening cooperation and addressing key concerns between Nepal and the UK. Additionally, in June 2025, Ministry of Defence officials met with representatives of the Nepali Government and Gurkha Veterans as part of the Bilateral Gurkha Veteran Welfare Committee’s Working Group, which continues to serve as a platform for constructive dialogue and collaboration.
The 1948 Gurkha Pension Scheme is different to other Armed Forces Pension Schemes, but these differences are objectively and reasonably justified. The legal basis for the Scheme has been upheld by three Judicial Reviews since 2003, including the European Court of Human Rights in 2017.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the extent to which the unique relationship between Nepal and UK through the brigade of Gurkhas is taken into consideration when allocating bilateral support to Nepal.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is a longstanding partner to Nepal and we have a broad and diverse cooperation. This includes Gurkhas in the British Army who make an outstanding contribution to the UK as well as UK Official Development Assistance (ODA). UK ODA is allocated by financial year. In financial year 2023-24, £28.3 million of ODA was allocated for bilateral programming in Nepal, and for year 2024-25, £60.2 million was allocated. We will publish final 2025/26 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) ODA programme allocations in the FCDO Annual Report & Accounts this summer. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much bilateral aid has been allocated to Nepal since 2023, broken down by year.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is a longstanding partner to Nepal and we have a broad and diverse cooperation. This includes Gurkhas in the British Army who make an outstanding contribution to the UK as well as UK Official Development Assistance (ODA). UK ODA is allocated by financial year. In financial year 2023-24, £28.3 million of ODA was allocated for bilateral programming in Nepal, and for year 2024-25, £60.2 million was allocated. We will publish final 2025/26 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) ODA programme allocations in the FCDO Annual Report & Accounts this summer. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much bilateral aid will be allocated to Nepal for the next three financial years.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is a longstanding partner to Nepal and we have a broad and diverse cooperation. This includes Gurkhas in the British Army who make an outstanding contribution to the UK as well as UK Official Development Assistance (ODA). UK ODA is allocated by financial year. In financial year 2023-24, £28.3 million of ODA was allocated for bilateral programming in Nepal, and for year 2024-25, £60.2 million was allocated. We will publish final 2025/26 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) ODA programme allocations in the FCDO Annual Report & Accounts this summer. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the protection of religious freedom for Christian communities in Nepal, in the context of (a) recent political movements advocating for the restoration of a Hindu kingdom and (b) trends in the number of attacks on Christians.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK condemns all forms of discrimination based on religion or belief, recognising that freedom of religion is a cornerstone of human rights and democratic societies. Our Embassy in Kathmandu engages a range of different faith leaders and civil society on human rights. Through this and other engagement, the UK will continue to signal respect for religious diversity and support for everyone's right to freely practise their faith, traditions, and beliefs without fear or prejudice.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with his counterpart in Nepal on the (i) number of Nepalese nationals who are and (ii) steps Nepal is taking to help prevent its nationals fighting as mercenaries for the Russian Federation in Ukraine; and what information his Department holds on whether those mercenaries have received training from the British Army.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry for Defence engages regularly with the Government of Nepal. The Nepali Government has denounced recruitment and has formally asked Russia to desist its attempts to recruit Nepali citizens to fight.
They have also sought to deter Nepalis travelling to Russia through immigration measures and raising public awareness of the risks, to which HMG is supportive. As the Government of Nepal does not allow citizens to join the Russian military there are no official figures available.
No evidence has been provided by Ukraine or Nepal to suggest that Nepalis trained by the British Army are fighting for Russia.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what has been the year-on-year commitment of the £7.85 million provided to the Global Survivors Fund since 2019; and what was the country breakdown of this year-on-year commitment.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Since 2019, the UK Government has supported the Global Survivors Fund to provide life-saving support and reparative measures for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence around the world.
UK funding to the Global Survivors Fund has supported thousands of survivors, including in Ukraine, Colombia, Iraq, South Sudan, Mali, Central African Republic, Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Turkey, East Timor, Nigeria and Nepal among others. Projects have included the provision of psychosocial, educational and livelihood support, as well as technical support to Governments.
A year-on-year breakdown of funding is as follows:
• From Financial Year (FY) 2019/20 to 2021/22: £2.7m
• FY 2022/23: £1.5m
• FY 2023/24: £1.85m
• FY 2024/25: £1.8m
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Gurkhas will be recruited in each of the next five years.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Gurkhas have made an outstanding contribution to the UK through their years of dedicated service to the Crown and are held in high esteem by the British Army and public alike.
The number of recruits required for the Brigade of Gurkhas is managed on an annual basis and depends on factors such as retirements, transfers and any changes in unit Order of Battles. Therefore, the Army cannot provide confirmation on the likely number of Gurkha recruits for each of the next five years.
The British Army’s wish to recruit women has been communicated to the Government of Nepal and we will continue to engage them on this subject.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when female Gurkha soldiers will be recruited.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Gurkhas have made an outstanding contribution to the UK through their years of dedicated service to the Crown and are held in high esteem by the British Army and public alike.
The number of recruits required for the Brigade of Gurkhas is managed on an annual basis and depends on factors such as retirements, transfers and any changes in unit Order of Battles. Therefore, the Army cannot provide confirmation on the likely number of Gurkha recruits for each of the next five years.
The British Army’s wish to recruit women has been communicated to the Government of Nepal and we will continue to engage them on this subject.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure its consular guidance raises awareness of cities with high levels of carbon monoxide.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice remains under regular review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks to British nationals. The risks from carbon monoxide poisoning are covered in travel advice for China and Nepal, Solo and independent travel and Volunteering and adventure travel pages as well as our Foreign travel checklist.
We aim to include information in our travel advice on the issues most likely to be of relevance to British nationals visiting or living in each country/territory. In determining what we include in our travel advice we assess a range of factors, including drawing on local knowledge and monitoring trends in consular cases.