Armed Forces Covenant Needs Assessment
Due to the Island's location, it has played a key role in protecting key military sites located in both Portsmouth and Gosport. The last national census in 2021 showed the Island had 7,196 people who had served in the armed forces (regular, reserves or both). That's 6% of the current population - a higher percentage than that of Portsmouth.
Gosport has the UK's highest number of those who have served in the armed forces, regular, reserve or both at 12% of the population. Approximately 90,000 adults and children are part of the Solent armed forces community.
The needs assessment seeks to understand the needs of this community by providing strategic governance for the local delivery of the Covenant. The aim of this assessment is to:
- raise awareness about the support veterans can expect from local authorities
- provide an understanding of the needs of the local veteran population
- test the impact of these initiatives
You can download the latest Solent Armed Forces Needs Assessment February 2023 (PDF, 2MB).
You can download the first Solent Armed Forces Needs Assessment (PDF, 4MB) which was published in October 2018.
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