Hampshire County Councillors have given their backing to calls to resolve the concerns of Gurkha veterans about their pensions. 

This follows a motion that was carried at a meeting of the full county council on Thursday July 20. 

County council leader Rob Humby said: “The county council has a strong relationship with Hampshire’s Armed Forces community, which includes many Gurkha veterans, and we always take an active role in ensuring military families have equal access to services. 

“We’re conscious of the considerable number of Gurkha veterans settled in Hampshire, who have concerns about their pensions and welfare provision and may be living in poor circumstances on Pension Credit. For those who retired before July 1 1997, the payments are calculated differently to other veterans in the British Army. 

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“It is important that the Government gives the issue of Gurkha pensions and welfare the attention it needs, and we will be urging them to look again at these veterans’ concerns and take action.” 

Gurkha pensions and welfare issues are currently the subject of intergovernmental negotiations between the British Government and the Government of Nepal, involving representatives of Gurkha veterans. 

Cllr Humby added: “The county council has a responsibility to implement the Armed Forces Covenant Duty, ensuring equal access to services for people from the Armed Forces – and we’re looking forward to renewing our commitment to that Covenant later this year. While the duties under the Covenant do not extend to pensions, we take our support for Armed Forces residents very seriously, and we are keen to see an end to this long-running negotiation. 

“Our county has a large Gurkha community in Rushmoor, where we have more than ten thousand Nepali residents including many Gurkha veterans, and there are also Gurkha veterans living in other parts of the county. This issue needs resolving as soon as possible.”