To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the likely effects on levels of (a) recruitment of Gurkhas and (b) resettlement of former Gurkhas in the UK if his Department were to apply its policies on former UK service personnel to former Gurkha soldiers. (280396)

Since 2004, Gurkhas who served on or after 1 July 1997 have had the right to settle in the UK on discharge and the majority have done so. Some Gurkhas who retired before 1 July 1997 were given settlement under discretionary arrangements and the Government have recently extended these arrangements to include all those who retired before 1 July 1997 with four or more years service.

There is no evidence that these changes will have any impact on the recruitment of Gurkhas—recruiting is now under way for the 2010 intake and the quality and quantity of applicants in Nepal is as high as ever. Levels of resettlement of former Gurkhas in the UK are expected to increase and further work is being undertaken across Government to assess what the effects of this might be. The MOD will continue to monitor these issues to ensure that force structures and operational effectiveness are sustained.