First, may I congratulate you on your appointment by the Prime Minister to the important Government post of Parliamentary Secretary of State (Minister for Defence People and Veterans)?
This post is especially important at this time to Gurkha veterans, who would like you to consider Gurkha Pensions issues.
Over the past 18 years, I have spoken to many Gurkha veterans with service in the British Army, so I know how bad their pensions are compared to those of other soldiers with the same service and the same rank, but who are not Gurkha veterans.
Then, 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, we now know that, if those Gurkha veterans who transferred to AFPS had remained in the GPS, their pensions would have been much higher than they now are in the AFPS.
I am aware that the Government consider that they need do no more after their response to the All-Party Parliamentary Group Inquiry on Gurkha Welfare six years ago.
However, the situation has changed since that Inquiry, so I am asking you and your officials at the Ministry of Defence to sit down with me to find solutions that you can take up with your colleagues in Government.
These issues are not solely of concern to the Ministry of Defence, which has responsibility for Gurkhas serving in the British Army.
They are also of great interest to other British Government departments, such as HM Treasury, the Foreign Office, the Department of Work and Pensions, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Department of Communities and Local Government, as well as the Embassy of Nepal and the Government of Nepal.
There are many aspects to these issues, but I never lose sight of the overriding need for fairness and equality going forward.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Cllr Alex Crawford JP
Aldershot North Division
Hampshire County Council
17 Cargate Avenue
Aldershot GU11 3EP
Tel: 01252 314708
Mob.: 07891 979457