New Armed Forces Census question

19 February 2021

Census day is Sunday 21 March in England and Wales. 

Among the new questions this time is one asking people whether they have served in the Armed Forces to support commitments made by central and local government under the Armed Forces Covenant – a promise by the nation ensuring that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly.

Lieutenant-General Sir Andrew Richard Gregory, KBE, CB, DL, Chief Executive of SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity said: “One of the biggest challenges SSAFA and the wider charity sector faces is allocating resources and planning future services to ensure the need across the Armed Forces community is met.

“For the first time in our history, we are delighted that the national census will provide those serving in the military, regulars and reserves, veterans and their families the opportunity to record their Armed Forces’ linkages. I urge everyone to play their part in gathering this hugely important and rich data, secure in the fact that their own personal records will be locked away for 100 years, thus making it an extremely safe process.”

There will be no veteran question in the Northern Ireland 2021 Census, which will use alternative sources of data to build a picture of their resident Armed Forces community.  The 2021 census in Scotland was moved to 2022 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.