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One in 20 people living in Bassetlaw is a veteran of the UK armed forces, the first figures of their kind reveal.

A snapshot of England and Wales taken in March last year has already given us a much better picture of the make-up of our population.

And for the first time in 2021, census respondents were asked whether they had previously served in the UK armed forces in a bid to improve the treatment of veterans across the two nations through better data.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show 4,924 people in Bassetlaw said they were a veteran at the time of the census – 5 per cent of usual residents aged 16 and over.

Across England and Wales, 1.9 million people (3.8%) said they had previously served in the regular armed forces, reserve forces, or both, at the time of the census.

Of them, 3,895 had served in the regular UK armed forces and 803 as a reserve.

The ONS said areas with larger rates of veterans tend to be near existing armed forces bases.

Across the East Midlands as a whole, 4 per cent of people who responded to the census were ex-forces.

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It said better information on the veteran population will help service providers and others to support veterans, in line with the Armed Forces Covenant – a promise from the nation to treat veterans and their families fairly.

National statistician Sir Ian Diamond said: “For the first time our data is able to show the vast scale of our armed forces community, which is vital information to help direct support and services where they are needed most.

“Perhaps unsurprisingly a large proportion of our veterans live or are located near military establishments, suggesting they tend to stay in the same areas after they have left service.”

Across England and Wales, 1.9 million people, 3.8 per cent, said they had previously served in the regular armed forces, reserve forces, or both.

About 37,000, 2 per cent, of them lived in communal establishments – which can include student halls of residence, an armed forces base, hospital or care home.

In Bassetlaw, 103 veterans, 2 per cent, were in communal establishments last year, and 4,824 were in households.

Johnny Mercer, veterans’ affairs minister, said the Government is committed to making the UK “the best place in the world for all our veterans”.

One in 20 Bassetlaw residents is an Armed Forces veteran