Captain Leo Docherty MP

Parliamentary Secretary of State (Minister for Defence People and Veterans)

MinDPV-PrivateOffice@mod.gov.uk

Dear Minister,

First, may I congratulate you on your appointment by the Prime Minister to this important Government post?

Your post is especially important at this time to Gurkha veterans, and I would ask you to give urgent consideration to Gurkha Pensions issues.

Talking to a number of Gurkha veterans with service in the British Army, I have been told how bad their pensions are compared to those of other soldiers with the same service and the same rank.

I have been informed that, 14 years ago, the Ministry of Defence devised the Gurkha Offer to Transfer (GOTT), which gave Gurkha Pension Scheme (GPS) members (retired or serving) with service on or after 1 July 1997 an option to move from the GPS to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) –  on the basis that Gurkha veterans would then have the same annual increases as other soldiers – which seemed fair at the time.

However, they now know that, if they had remained in the GPS, their pensions would have been much higher than they now are in the AFPS.

Thousands of Gurkha veterans’ monthly pensions have been reduced greatly since last year, despite their long years of loyal service in the British Army.

You will be aware of these Gurkha Pensions issues, as British Gurkha Welfare Society Chairman Major (Retd) Tikendra Dewan raised them with you at the end of last year in your role as MP for Aldershot Constituency.

Please would you raise these Gurkha Pensions issues as a matter of urgency with your departmental colleagues, as the longer they go unresolved the greater the losses to Gurkha veterans and the greater the sense of betrayal that they feel?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Halleh Koohestani