What new data it has started to collect on veterans since November 2018.

There have been significant developments in the data collected on veterans in recent years, offering enhanced insight into the size, nature and circumstances of the veterans community in Scotland.Scotland’s 2022 Census included for the first time a question on former Service in the Armed Forces. It was found that 176,100 people across Scotland had previously served in the UK Armed Forces, representing 3.9% of people aged 16 and over. The Scottish Government published a report in November 2024 outlining differences between Scotland’s veteran and non-veteran population and providing high-level statistics on veterans’ demographic characteristics. This can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-characteristics-of-uk-armed-forces-veterans-scotlands-census-2022/.Alongside the November release, National Records Scotland published a Flexible Table Builder to support further analysis of the veteran population, including a wider range of variables such as ethnic group, religion and disability, as well as health, housing and employment. Scottish Government analysts have been examining this detailed data to better understand veterans’ demographic characteristics and explore key differences between the veteran and non-veteran population.Another key development has been the inclusion of the veterans question from the Census in the three Scottish Government major household surveys (Scottish Household Survey, Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, and the Scottish Health Survey). Findings from these sources have started to emerge, including chapters outlining headline results for veterans compared to non-veterans, as can be found here: Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2023/24: Main findings
- gov.scotScottish Government officials also worked with ONS, OVA and the other Devolved Governments to develop and facilitate the first UK-wide Veterans’ Survey, which aims to understand current access to and perception of services in addition to veterans’ experiences and circumstances. Findings on a range of topics from the survey include information on whether patterns seen in results at UK level were replicated amongst respondents in Scotland.Scottish Government analysts will continue to work with the UK Government to robustly analyse, collate and make use of emerging data to better understand veterans’ demographic characteristics and explore key differences between the veteran and non-veteran population.