The day-to-day activities of one in five British veterans living in Derry and Strabane at the time of the last census were ‘limited a lot’ by long term health problems or disabilities, a new report has found.

That was the highest proportion of veterans with significant daily limitations reported in any local government district in 2021.

The new Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) report records that ‘the proportion [of veterans] where day-to-day activities were limited a lot ranged from 13.6 per cent in Lisburn and Castlereagh to 19.2 per cent [336 veterans resident in the district] in Derry City and Strabane’.

A further 18.7 per cent [327 former British soldiers, sailors or air personnel] of Derry and Strabane veterans reported that their ‘day-to-day activities [were] limited a little’ bringing the total proportion with some degree of limitation due to ill health or disability to a high 37.9 per cent.

The War Memorial in Derry. The day-to-day activities of one in five British veterans living in Derry and Strabane at the time of the last census were ‘limited a lot’ by long term health problems or disabilities, a new report has found.

placeholder image — The War Memorial in Derry. The day-to-day activities of one in five British veterans living in Derry and Strabane at the time of the last census were ‘limited a lot’ by long term health problems or disabilities, a new report has found.

Only Mid Ulster (40.3 per cent) and Fermanagh and Omagh (38.9 per cent) reported higher proportions of veterans with some degree of day-to-day limitation in 2021.

Sixty two point two per cent [1,089] of veterans in Derry and Strabane, on the other hand, reported no day-to-day limitations.

The data are contained in a new NISRA report that provides a detailed profile of the UK Armed Forces veteran population living in the North at the time of the 2021 Census.

The report finds that a higher proportion of veterans in Derry and Strabane are deprived than elsewhere.

"Derry City and Strabane had the highest proportion of veteran households deprived in one or more dimensions (69 per cent), followed by Belfast (68.6 per cent). Lisburn and Castlereagh had the lowest proportion of deprived veteran households (58.4 per cent) and the highest proportion not deprived in any dimension (41.6 per cent),” the bulletin states.

Equally, the North West had the highest proportion of former British soldiers, sailors and air personnel with no qualifications.

"Derry City and Strabane (36.5 per cent), Mid Ulster (36 per cent) and Fermanagh and Omagh (33.8 per cent) had the highest proportions of veterans with no qualifications,” the research report concludes.

Apprenticeship rates among veterans are lower in Derry/Strabane too.

“Veterans in Fermanagh and Omagh were the least likely to have an apprenticeship qualification (16.2 per cent), followed by Mid Ulster (17.4 per cent) and both Causeway Coast and Glens and Derry City and Strabane (17.9 per cent),” it continues.

A high percentage of former British Armed Forces personnel are economically active locally.

“Mid Ulster (57.8 per cent) and Derry City and Strabane (58 per cent) had the lowest proportions economically active and the highest proportions economically inactive (42.2% and 42.0% respectively),” the authors conclude.

The report also points out that the the lowest proportions of veteran households were observed in Mid Ulster (4.1 per cent), Newry, Mourne and Down (4.3 per cent) and Derry City and Strabane (4.7 per cent).

According to the Census data 1,755 British veterans were living in the city and district in 2021.