Gosport MP, Dame Caroline Dinenage, has urged veterans in our community to take part in a newly launched survey, by the Office of Veteran Affairs and the Office for National Statistics.
The survey, announced November 10th, aims to provide evidence and gather more information about the lives of people who have left the UK Armed Forces in modern Britain, their support networks and their lifestyles.
This comes as part of the Government’s ambition to make the UK the best place to be an armed forces veteran by 2028. Work began on this pledge at the last ONS census in 2021 which, for the first time ever, recorded the number of veterans living in the UK and where they lived.
The government have already shown a consistent commitment to veterans, with the Prime Minister re-appointing Rt Hon Johnny Mercer MP as Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, a role which now attends cabinet, as well as introducing the new veterans’ ID cards as part of the discharge process.
The findings of this survey will be invaluable to the Office of Veteran Affairs & other government organisations, charities and public bodies. It will help to inform and shape future policy decisions and support networks, as well as provide greater understanding of the veterans community.
It is also open to family members of veterans. The survey is available on the ONS website.
Dame Caroline Dinenage said:
“The Gosport constituency has a very high proportion of Armed Forces veterans. I am glad that the government is delivering on its pledge to make the UK the best place to be a veteran by 2028.
“The information collected by this ONS survey will be incredibly valuable to policy and decision makers. It will help to get a better understanding of the veteran demographic, and to shape support networks going forward.
“I would urge every veteran in the Gosport community to do this online survey which will be so beneficial for future services.”
