Thank you for contacting me about the 2021 Census.
You may be interested to know that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published their current view on the topics proposed for inclusion in the Census, including a report on requirements for information on armed forces. The current position of the ONS follows a public consultation seeking evidence on the information needs for the Census, which generated nearly 1,100 responses.
I am pleased that the ONS recognises that there is a clear need for information on the armed forces. It believes, however, that the issue is how that information should be produced. In this case, there might be administrative data sources, such as service and pension records collected by the armed forces and the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which could be used to identify former service men and women.
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