Pauline Lathan OBE MP recently met with representatives of The Royal British Legion and David, a veteran, to discuss the Royal British Legion and Poppy Scotland’s ‘Count Them In’ campaign.
Pauline supports this campaign which calls for the Armed Forces community to be included as a topic in the next Census.
It is estimated that there are between 6.5 million and 6.7 million members of the Armed Forces community living in the UK. This represents about a tenth of the population. However, exact numbers, location and needs of this significant group are not known. Inclusion of this topic in the next census would provide public bodies, local authorities, and charities with valuable information to ensure they are able to deliver the best services they can for our Armed Forces community.
Pauline said, “Members of the Armed Forces make huge sacrifices for our country. I enjoyed meeting with David and staff from The Royal British Legion and hearing more about their Count Them In campaign. It cannot be right that our Servicemen and women, veterans and their families are effectively hidden from official statistics, and that’s why I’m backing the call for new questions to be added to the next UK Census..”
If you wish to find out more about the campaign you can find out more at: www.britishlegion.org.uk/census.