1. About the survey
Information on what the Ex Armed Forces Personnel (EXAFP) Survey is, who it is for and who organises it. In this section:
- About the survey
- Organisations carrying out the survey
- Definition of a veteran
1. About the survey
The EXAFP Survey will close online on Tuesday 28 February at 23:59pm. The Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are carrying out this important survey. It covers a range of topics related to the circumstances and lifestyles of people who have left the UK armed forces. These people are commonly known as veterans.
The UK Government wants to make the UK the best place for veterans to live by 2028. Change has already started. For the first time, the Census 2021 counted UK armed forces veterans. But we need to find out more information in order to help veterans.
By taking part in this survey, you will help us to produce statistics about the lives of the armed forces community, veterans, and their families. Government departments, public bodies and charities will use the anonymous findings from this survey to make their plans.
This is your unique opportunity to tell us about your experiences. Your responses will provide information not available from any other sources. Do not miss your chance to have your say.
2. Organisations carrying out the survey
The Office for National Statistics (ONS)
The ONS is:
independent, unbiased and impartial; we are separate from other organisations and do not allow anything to influence the statistics we publish
the only organisation that produces official statistics as a primary role; we have no additional interest in the information we collect
only interested in society as a whole, and not you as an individual; statistics represent groups of people, so we remove your personal details as we are not interested in singling you out
We are not:
a commercial or market research organisation; we do not work for profit and will not try to sell you anything
associated with any political parties; we produce official statistics, no matter who the Prime Minister or political party in government is
going to sell on your data under any circumstances; we value your involvement in our studies and do not profit from your data, so you will not receive any "junk mail" because of taking part
monitoring you, as the data you give are only used for producing statistics; we will not use your information to contact you about other matters such as your tax, income or benefits, and we will not provide your information to anyone else for them to do so either
If you would like to read more about what the ONS does, you can follow the link, which opens in a new window, to this web page: https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/whatwedo.
The Office for Veterans' Affairs
The Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA) leads UK Government efforts to make sure the United Kingdom is the best place to be a veteran anywhere in the world, helping the nation fulfil its lifelong duty to those who have served in the armed forces.
OVA was launched in 2019 and is part of the Cabinet Office. OVA works with all UK Government departments and a broad range of other private, charity and public sector organisations who collectively provide support and services to veterans.
3. Definition of a veteran
When we mention veterans during the survey, we mean people who have served in the UK armed forces and have since left service.
You do not need to have seen active combat or been in the armed forces in a particular role or rank. If you have served for one day, you are considered a veteran and can take part.
The questions in the survey ask about access to services and circumstances since leaving the armed forces. The survey also asks about your lifestyle, health, and wellbeing.
You might also be interested in the following sections:
How to take part
Your responses and how they will be used
Further help
2. How to take part
How to take part in the EXAFP Survey
In this section:
How to take part in the survey
Who can take part in the survey
Saving or changing your responses
Completing the survey in another language
Completing the survey if you do not have access to the internet
Deadline for responses
1. How to take part in the survey
This survey has now closed.
Thank you for your interest in taking part in this survey.
2. Who can take part in the survey
This time, the Ex Armed Forces Personnel (EXAFP) Survey is open to UK veterans who are:
aged 18 years or over
living in the UK, as this survey is adding to information from Census 2021 to improve veterans' services in the UK
not currently serving in the UK armed forces (regular or reserve)
have received a communication from the Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA) with a link to the EXAFP Survey
You will get an invitation message, requesting you take part online.
If someone needs help to fill in the survey, friends and family can help fill in the form on their behalf. Some questions are of a sensitive nature. When these questions occur in the survey, we will ask who is filling in the survey. These questions will not be asked of those receiving help.
3. Saving or changing your responses
If you want to take a break from the survey, then click the "Save and continue" button, which is shown on every page. You will be asked to enter your email address. A link will be sent to the email address for you to continue the survey later. You can close the survey. Select the email link to start the survey where you left off.
If you leave the survey without selecting the "Save and continue" button, you will exit the survey. If you want to finish the survey, you will need to start again from the beginning.
At the end of the survey, select "Submit" to send your answers. If you have submitted your response but would like to change your answers, please call for free on +44 800 085 7376 or email surveyfeedback@ons.gov.uk to let us know. Once the survey is closed, the anonymous information is grouped together, and individual responses cannot be changed.
4. Completing the survey in another language
Currently, the survey is only available in English.
5. Completing the survey if you do not have access to the internet
If you have access to the internet via a smartphone or other means (such as via a local library or internet cafe), you will be able to take part in the survey.
Unfortunately, there are no paper questionnaires for the EXAFP Survey.
6. Deadline for responses
It helps us if you complete the survey as soon as possible on or after Friday 3 February 2023, but the survey will be open until Tuesday 28 February at 23:59pm.
You might also be interested in the following sections:
About the survey
Your responses and how they will be used
Further help
3. Your responses and how they will be used
Topics the survey asks about and how we will use the answers you give.
In this section:
1. What we will ask about
2. What we will do with your responses
1. What we will ask about
The survey will cover a range of topics, including:
awareness of ex-armed forces support
access to services
have you seen active service?
have you been bullied or harassed?
have you been discriminated against?
access to employment
access to housing
work
health and well-being
interactions with the criminal justice system
finances
lifestyle
Not everyone will be asked all of these questions.
There are some voluntary questions for veterans that cover sensitive issues such as workplace bullying. If you are uncomfortable with any of the questions, you can always leave them out. We have made sure you do not need any specialist knowledge to take part.
You only need to answer questions you want to. There are no right or wrong answers; your honest responses are vital for us to produce reliable statistics about veterans and their families.
You will never be asked for bank details or credit card information. You will never be asked for your passport or other documents.
2. What we will do with your responses
Your personal information will remain confidential.
The details you provide will be combined with those of everyone else taking part so we can produce statistics. We will use the data you provide alongside data from Census 2021. We will do this because we want to build a bigger picture about UK veterans.
The information you provide will be anonymous and confidential, as we only wish to learn more about the veteran population. Any data we publish will never identify you or your household.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will share a de-identified dataset (removing identifiable information) and findings with the Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA) in the Cabinet Office.
We do not sell on your data, and you will not receive junk mail or marketing calls as a result of taking part in one of our studies.
If you want to know more, please see the section about our commitment to protecting your data.
You might also be interested in the following sections:
About the survey
How to take part
Further help
4. Further help
Information on confidentiality and data protection, useful links and how to contact us.
In this section
Confidentiality and data protection statement
The responsibility the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has to the public
Sharing data with others
Useful links for further support
Contact us
1. Confidentiality and data protection statement
The information you provide while participating in this research is protected by law. UK legislation allows us to collect and process your data to produce statistics for the public good. Your personal information will be treated as confidential as directed by the Code of Practice for Statistics. It will be anonymised and will only be held for as long as it is required to produce useful statistics. Your personal data will not be shared with any third parties.
Your answers are securely stored while you take part in the survey. All responses are kept safe by strict confidentiality and storage protocols.
As a data subject (someone whose personal data we hold), you have statutory rights in relation to your personal data. These include the rights to access, object, erase and rectify, though not all rights will apply to information held for statistical purposes. If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact our data protection officer.
If you have a question about how we process your personal data and you cannot find the answer on our data protection pages, you can contact our data protection officer:
email dpo@statistics.gov.uk
or call 0845 601 3034
How we use the information you provide
The details you provide will be combined with everyone else taking part so we can produce statistics. The findings from the survey will be made public once the survey has been closed and data analysis has been completed.
Your personal data will not be shared with any other body, group, or organisation.
The information will be held while it is being used for producing statistics. When the data are no longer being used it will be deleted.
Keeping your information safe
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) adheres to the Code of Practice for Statistics and the Data Protection Act 2018. This means we process all personal information with respect, keeping it secure and confidential. Any personal data collected are processed in systems that have been designed to uphold the security of the data and are subject to regular assessment.
Cookies
Some online studies collect information using cookies. These are small files stored on your computer. These files are used sparingly and only for quality control and validation and, more importantly, to prevent us sending you reminders for an online survey you have already completed. It is possible for you to delete cookies or to prevent their use by adjusting the browser settings on your computer.
We also automatically capture information about your operating system, display settings and browser type to ensure that the survey is delivered in a form suited to the software your computer is using. We do not capture any other information from your computer.
2. The responsibility the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has to the public
You can read about the commitments the ONS makes to those taking part in our surveys on our ONS respondent charter for surveys of households and individuals web page.
If you have a question about how we process your personal data or want to find out more about your rights under data protection legislation, please see our data protection web page.
We comply with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) guidance. For further information, see the Information Commissioner's Office web page.
In this survey, we are collecting information on behalf of another organisation, the Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA). For more information about how your data will be treated, please see our household and individual surveys web page.
3. Sharing data with others
We sometimes share selected information with our service providers to help us run our surveys. We only share the personal details they need to know. To find out more about each service provider's commitment while they are handling your information, please visit their websites.
In this survey, we work with the Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA). If you would like to find out more, please visit the Office for Veterans' Affairs website.
We are using SmartSurvey as the platform for the online survey. If you would like to find out more, please visit the SmartSurvey website.
4. Useful links for further support
The Veterans' Gateway is a website that provides support and advice for any ex-service personnel and their families, whatever they are dealing with. They provide the first point of contact to a network of military and non-military partner organisations to help you find exactly what you need, when you need it, whether you are in the UK or overseas. For 24 hour support, visit the Veterans' Gateway website or call their telephone number at +44 808 802 1212.
5. Contact us
If you have any queries, please reply back to the email you received about the survey.
You might also be interested in the following sections:
About the survey
How to take part
Your responses and how they will be used