Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance the Government has given to former Gurkhas who are homeless as a result of recent earthquakes in Nepal.

Mr Desmond Swayne

A Joint DFID and Ministry of Defence (MOD) response was launched immediately in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquakes in April and May 2015. The MOD through the Gurkha Welfare Trust (GWT) supported both immediate and longer term initiatives. The GWT carried out a detailed assessment of the damage to Gurkha communities and provided £1.2 million in emergency aid that included distribution of shelter kits, tarpaulins and corrugated iron sheets in remote areas immediately in the aftermath of the earthquake. In addition, a unit of the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers was deployed to repair and rebuild the homes and communities of approximately 2,200 Gurkha servicemen that were severely damaged by the earthquake. To date, 150 new houses, built to an earthquake resistant design, are under construction and a further 600 houses will be started this year. DFID has been supplying humanitarian assistance to the Gurkha communities hit by the earthquake since April 2015 and continues to do so.

The GWT’s commitments for the earthquake response now stand at £19 million over 5 years. The MOD has provided an additional grant of £512,000 to assist the GWT in its on-going response operations. Between 2012-20 DFID has committed £14.19 million to support the GWT’s Gurkha Welfare Scheme, a programme predominantly supporting the Nepali servicemen and their communities, on water and sanitation programmes.