§ Mr. PickthallTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in the examination of Gurkha pensions and gratuities; and if he will make a statement. [96019]
§ Mr. SpellarAs my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced in the House this afternoon, gratuities payable in respect of death attributable to service for Gurkhas will be brought into line with those of their British counterparts. The new payments take effect from 26 May this year and so will apply to the widow of Staff Sgt Balaram Rai killed in Kosovo in June.
The announcement is the result of the first stage in our examination of Gurkha pensions and gratuities. The increase remains firmly within the conditions set out in the 1947 Tri-Partite Agreement between India, Nepal and the UK and follows increases that have been implemented recently by the Indian Government. To take account of the fact that the UK is the home base for British Gurkhas I have introduced a UK element to substitute for the Indian State Government payments which are variable throughout India. This will bring payments for all deaths attributable to service up to British Army rates.
We are also looking at Gurkha pensions, still within the context of the Tri-Partite Agreement, and I hope to report on this by the end of the year.