Scottish Surveys Core Questions 2024
Information on the composition, characteristics and attitudes of Scottish households and adults across a number of topic areas.
11 Presentation of Data on Veteran status
This is the third time data on veteran status has been published as part of the SSCQ. Respondents were asked “Have you previously served in the UK Armed Forces?”, and the response options were presented as follows:
- No
- Yes, previously served in regular Armed Forces
- Yes, previously served in reserve Armed Forces
Current serving members were instructed to select the “No” option.
As with other questions, respondents could choose to answer “don’t know” or refuse to answer. For the SSCQ, both “Yes” response options were combined into a single “Yes” category.
Caution should be taken when comparing the veteran data with the wider population. A recent report from Scottish Government’s Safer Communities Analysis Unit found that there are substantial differences between Scotland’s veteran and non-veteran population.
Comparisons of veteran data should be made against SSCQ 2022 at the earliest, as this marks the first year of publishing this question.