Official Statistics

Tri-service families continuous attitude survey 2025 main report

Published 17 July 2025

This annual statistical release provides harmonised results from the single Service Families Continuous Attitude Surveys along with results from previous years.

This report provides information on experiences of, and attitudes towards various aspects of Service family life such as housing, employment, access to healthcare, welfare support, childcare and children’s education.

Statistics from the Families Continuous Attitude Survey (FamCAS) are used by both internal Ministry of Defence (MOD) teams and external bodies to inform the development of policy and measure the impact of decisions affecting personnel and their families.

1. Main Points and Trends

Satisfaction with the quality of life as a Service family has improved this year, returning to the level reported in 2022

Figure 1.1: Satisfaction with the quality of life as a Service family between 2022 and 2025

Figure 1.1 is a bar chart that shows satisfaction with the quality of life as a Service family falling from 54% in 2022 to 47% in 2024. Satisfaction has increased to 52% this year, now back in line with 2022, when this question was first asked.

This is one of several improvements in views of Service family life this year. Although, many of these follow a decline between 2022 and 2024, meaning results are now back in line with levels prior to 2023. Many results remain below the peak levels reported in 2021 during the Covid restrictions.

Amongst those families living in Service accommodation, satisfaction with the response to requests for maintenance and repair has improved this year

Figure 1.2: Satisfaction with the response to requests for maintenance and repair of Service Family Accommodation from 2015 to 2025

These results are subset to those living in Service Family Accommodation (SFA) or Substitute Service Family Accommodation (SSFA).

Figure 1.2 is a line graph that shows satisfaction fell sharply from 38% in 2021 to 16% in 2023. This has improved for the second year in a row to 36% this year, back in line with the 2021 result.

However, satisfaction remains below the peak of 45% reported in 2015.

A similar trend is reported for satisfaction with the quality of maintenance and repair of SFA.

Service spouses are more likely to encourage their Serving partner to stay in the Service than leave

For the first time this year, a Tri-Service question was included in the survey, asking Service spouses how often they have encouraged their Serving partner to stay or leave the Service over the past year.

Figure 1.3: How often spouses have encouraged their Serving partner to stay or leave the Service over the past year

Figure 1.3 contains two stacked bar charts that show spouses are more likely to encourage their partner to stay than leave.

Three in ten spouses (29%) encouraged their partner to stay in the Service “all the time/a lot” over the past year compared to 12% of spouses who encouraged their partner to leave “all the time/a lot”.

Responsible Statistician: Surveys Head of Branch

Email: Analysis-Surveys-Enquiries@mod.gov.uk

Background Quality Report: FamCAS webpage

Would you like to be added to our contact list, so that we can inform you about updates to these statistics and consult you if we are thinking of making changes? You can subscribe to updates by emailing Analysis-Surveys-Enquiries@mod.gov.uk.

Please refer to the FamCAS webpage for all data presented in this publication.

2. Introduction

About these statistics

The Families Continuous Attitude Survey (FamCAS) refers to a set of harmonised Tri-Service questions included within the annual single Service Families Continuous Attitude Surveys.

This report highlights the main findings of FamCAS 2025 and looks at changes over the past few years in areas such as housing, employment, access to healthcare, childcare and children’s education. It also looks at families’ views on Service family life, welfare support and communications.

The report also summarises the main comparisons between:

• RN/RM, Army, and RAF families
• Officer and Other Rank families
• Families living overseas and those living in England
• Families who moved for Service reasons and those who have not moved.

The FamCAS is one of the main ways that the department gathers information on the attitudes and experiences of Service families.

The 2025 survey

The 2025 FamCAS was distributed to a sample of 28,088 trained Regular Service personnel who were married or in a civil partnership. The Serving person was sent an email invite with a link to the survey that they were asked to pass on to their spouse.

The survey is now completely online only, with no paper surveys. The Army moved to online only in 2024, the RAF in 2023 and the RN/RM in 2020.

The survey was open from 10th February until 7th April 2025. This is a shorter period than usual, due to the survey being online only and the Easter break timings this year.

Overall, 4,839 valid responses were received, representing a response rate of 17%.

This is a decrease from the 2024 response rate of 21%, but similar to the response rates achieved in 2023 and 2022 (both 18%).

Figure 2.1: Response rates by Service

Figure 2.1 is a bar chart showing response rates by Service, RN/RM 11%, Army 23%, and RAF 17%.

The substantial number of responses to this survey allow robust inferences to be made. Measures of precision for all results are provided in the reference tables.

About this report

The following terminology has been used throughout this report:

• Married refers to those who are married or in a civil partnership.
• Spouse refers to spouse or civil partner
• RN/RM refers to Royal Navy/Royal Marines

AFCAS 2025 comparisons:

Many of these comparisons are based on a subset of the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) results for Service personnel who are married/in a civil partnership. As a result, they will not always match published AFCAS results.

National comparisons:

National figures are used to provide context wherever possible. However, these are rarely directly comparable due to demographic differences between the general population and the population of Service spouses.

Only differences that are statistically significant are commented on within this report; statistical tests were carried out at the 99% confidence level.

This is at a fairly stringent level and means that there should be a less than 1% chance that differences observed in FamCAS results are not representative of Service families as a whole.

This reduces the likelihood of wrongly concluding that there has been an actual change based on survey results.

Context for the 2025 report

Impact of the Modernised Accommodation Offer (MAO) announcement

Whilst FamCAS 2024 was in field, the Modernised Accommodation Offer was advertised to Service personnel and their families.

However, in response to feedback and concerns raised following these communications, changes to family accommodation entitlements were paused in February 2024 to enable a further review to take place.

This may explain, in part, the increase in response rates in 2024. It may also have influenced views amongst Officer spouses who reported more negative attitudes towards some areas of Service life in 2024. Many of these changes have improved this year and are back in line with 2023 results.

Impact of Covid-19

FamCAS 2021 captured experiences during lockdowns and restrictions. Several areas of improvement were reported in 2021 including the effect of Service life on their children and their relationship with their partner.

By 2024, many changes reported had reverted back to pre-Covid levels. This may be somewhat reflective of families re-evaluating following the lifting of restrictions.

This is likely to explain the peaks observed in 2021 when looking at results over the past few years.

3. About you

This section provides background demographics of Service spouses and their families as well as information about how often they move and the amount of separation they experience.

Service, Rank, and location

The estimates provided below are derived from the Joint Personnel Administration system (JPA) as of 1 February 2025. This information is used to weight the survey results to ensure they are representative of the married Service population by Service, Rank, and spouse location.

As of 1 February 2025, approximately 53,000 Regular trained Service personnel are married or in a civil partnership.

Figure 3.1: Married personnel by Service

Source: Based on data taken from JPA as of 01 Feb 2025.

Figure 3.1 is a stacked bar chart that shows nearly six in ten married Regular trained Service personnel belong to the Army (57%). About a quarter (24%) belong to the RAF and the remaining 19% serve with the Royal Navy. This is broadly in line with the Service distribution of the Full-Time trained strength of the UK Armed Forces.

Just over seven in ten married Regular trained Service personnel are Other Ranks (71%), with the remaining 29% being Officers.

Please refer to the Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics for further information on the UK Armed Forces population.

Figure 3.2: Service spouses by where they live

Source: Based on data taken from JPA as of 01 Feb 2025.

Figure 3.2 is a stacked bar chart that shows the proportion of Service spouses by where they live. Most spouses live in England (81%). One in ten live in other UK countries and the remaining 9% live outside the UK.

Data quality note

The estimate of married Service personnel is derived from a self-reported field so there may be some under-reporting. The 2025 Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) estimated 46% of Service personnel were married/in a civil partnership, applying this to the trained Regular strength equates to just over 58,600 personnel.

Estimates within the rest of this report are from the 2025 Families Continuous Attitude Survey (FamCAS). Comparisons to other data sources are referenced.

Gender and age of Service spouses

Nearly nine in ten Service spouses are female. This reflects the fact that most Service personnel are male.

Figure 3.3: Service spouses by age

Figure 3.3 is a stacked bar chart that shows the proportion of Service spouses by age group. Three-fifths of Service spouses (60%) are less than 40 years old. Three in ten (30%) are aged 40 to 49 whilst one in ten (10%) are aged 50 or over.

National comparison

The 2021 Census estimates 61% of the married population in England are aged over 50. This compares to 10% for Service spouses. This difference reflects the much older age profile of those married in the wider population compared to Service spouses.

Nationality of Service spouses

Nearly one in six Service spouses (16%) report a non-UK nationality. A higher proportion of Army Other Rank spouses report a non-UK nationality (30%) than the other Services/Rank groups.

Amongst Regular trained Service personnel, the Army report a higher proportion of non-UK nationalities.

Please refer to the UK Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics for further information on the age, gender, and nationality of Service personnel.

Qualifications, employment, and home ownership

More than six in ten Service spouses (63%) have a Level 4 or above qualification. This differs by rank: 82% of Officer spouses are educated to Level 4 or above compared to 55% of Other Rank spouses

Level 4 or above includes Higher National Certificates, Higher National Diplomas, Bachelors’ Degrees, and post-graduate qualifications.

National comparison

Although not directly comparable, the 2021 Census estimated that 33.8% of those aged 16 or above in England or Wales were educated to Level 4 or above.

Just over eight in ten Service spouses (81%) are employed. This includes 11% of spouses who are also serving in the Regular Armed Forces. Couples where both partners are members of the Regular Armed Forces are referred to as dual Serving couples.

Employed refers to those in full-time, part- time or self-employment.

Nearly six in ten Service families (57%) own a home. Homeownership differs by Rank and Service, ranging from 40% for Army Other Rank families to 85% for RN/RM Officer families.

AFCAS comparison

These results are broadly consistent with the AFCAS 2025 findings: 60% of married Service personnel are homeowners; 83% of spouses/civil partners are employed, including 9% who are also serving in the Regular Armed Forces.

Families with children

Nearly eight in ten Service families (78%) have children. This includes families whose children are all over the age of 18.

Proportion of families by age of children:

• 71% have a child aged under 18
• 59% have a child aged under 11
• 54% have a school-aged child
• 32% have a child aged under 5

National comparison

Although not directly comparable, the 2023 UK Labour Force Survey estimates 53% of married couple households have children and 40% have dependent children, considerably fewer than Service families.

Mobility

Over a fifth of Service families (21%) moved for Service reasons over the past year.

This has been largely stable since 2017. However, this increased in 2020, driven by Army families, due to the Army Basing Programme which involved the return of a large number of Service families from Germany to the UK over the summer of 2019.

Figure 3.4: Families who moved for Service reasons in the past year by Service

Figure 3.4 is a bar chart that shows Army families are the most likely to have moved for Service reasons in the past year (24%) closely followed by RAF families (21%). RN/RM families are the least likely (12%).

A higher proportion of Officer families moved for Service reasons (27%) than Other Rank families (19%).

Of those who moved for Service reasons in the past year, over half of families (52%) moved within the same UK country. Over one in ten families (13%) moved between UK countries whilst 17% moved to a country overseas. The remaining 18% moved to the UK from an overseas country.

Approximately one in six families (17%) have moved at least three times for Service reasons in the past five years. This differs by rank: over a quarter of Officer families (26%) have moved at least three times for Service reasons over the past five years compared to 13% of Other Rank families.

Just under three in eight families (37%) have not moved for Service reasons in the past five years. Over half of RN/RM families have not moved in the past five years (56%) compared to 32% of Army and 36% of RAF families.

Separation

Nearly a quarter of Service families (23%) live apart during the working week. A higher proportion of RN/RM families live apart during the working week (38%) compared to Army and RAF families (both 20%).

Figure 3.5: Percentage of families who experienced separation of three months or more per year

Figure 3.5 is a line graph that shows the proportion of families experiencing separation of more than three months per year from 2019 to 2025.

Historically, this proportion has been stable at around three in ten families (31% in 2025). However, following restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 lockdowns, the proportion of families experiencing separation of over three months fell to 21%.

Nearly one in six RN/RM spouses (16%) reported separation of more than six months over the past year, this compares to 8% of Army and 5% of RAF spouses.

AFCAS 2025 comparison

AFCAS also reported a reduction in separation from families in 2021. The proportion of personnel who reported separation of more than three months per year from their families fell from 43% in 2019 to 38% in 2021. In 2025 this is now back up to 44%, reflecting a return to pre-Covid levels of separation.

4. Service comparisons

There are differences in the survey results by Service which reflect the unique challenges faced by each. This section highlights the main differences in families’ experiences of, and attitudes towards Service life.

Families approach Service life in diverse ways, and this may change as their circumstances do.

Some families will live with their Serving partner in Service Family Accommodation (SFA) and will often accompany them when they are posted. This can lead to frequent house moves and the upheaval this causes.

To provide more stability for their family, some families will live in their own home off base. This typically leads to more separation.

There are also specific Service differences to consider. For example, Royal Navy families cannot accompany Service personnel at sea and, as a result, more Navy families will live separately from their partner.

Mobility by Service

Army and RAF families are more mobile than RN/RM families.

Army families were the most likely to move for Service reasons over the past year (24%), closely followed by RAF families (21%). RN/RM families were the least likely to move for Service reasons over the past year (12%).

Figure 4.1: Families not moved for Service reasons over the past five years

Figure 4.1 is a bar chart that shows over half of RN/RM families (56%) have not moved for Service reasons over the past five years. This compares to 32% for Army and 36% for RAF families.

Separation by Service

RN/RM families experience more separation from their Serving partner than Army or RAF families.

Four in ten RN/RM families (38%) live separately from their Serving partner during the working week. This compares to two in ten (20%) for both Army and RAF families.

Figure 4.2: Spouses separated from their Serving partner for more than three months over the past year

Figure 4.2 is a bar chart that shows over four in ten RN/RM families (42%) were separated from their Serving partner for more than three months over the past year. This compares to 28% for Army and 27% for RAF families.

Housing

Figure 4.3: Home ownership by Service

Figure 4.3 is a bar chart that shows nearly three-quarters of RN/RM families (74%) own a home, followed by RAF families (65%). Army families are the least likely to own a home (48%).

Figure 4.4: Type of accommodation families live in

Figure 4.4 is a bar chart that shows Army families are the most likely to live in SFA (69%), followed by 55% of RAF families. RN/RM families are the least likely to live in SFA (37%).

RN/RM families are the most likely to live in their own home (56%), followed by 39% of RAF families. Army families are the least likely to be living in their own home (25%).

A higher proportion of RAF families (31%) are not currently living in their own home but would prefer to be, compared to RN/RM (24%) and Army families (21%).

Employment

Army spouses are less likely to be in employment (78%) compared to RN/RM (85%) and RAF spouses (84%). This is driven by differences amongst Other Rank spouses. There is no difference in employment by Service amongst Officer spouses.

Employed refers to those in full-time, part-time or self-employment.

Children’s education

Figure 4.5: Families who experienced difficulties with their children’s education over the past year

These results are subset to those families with school-aged children.

Figure 4.5 is a bar chart that shows, of those families with school-aged children, Army families are more likely to experience difficulties with their children’s education (26%) compared to RN/RM (15%) and RAF families (19%).

Army and RAF families are more mobile than RN/RM families and hence more likely to have a child change school for Service reasons in the past year; 18% of Army and 14% of RAF families compared to 6% of RN/RM families. This may contribute to the difficulties experienced by families with their children’s education.

Communication and welfare support by Service

Overall, RN/RM families are more negative about communication, their ability to find out information and the welfare support for them and their family. This may be due, in part, to fewer RN/RM spouses living in Service accommodation with their partner, making accessing information and support more challenging.

Six in ten RN/RM spouses do not receive any communication from the Service (60%), this compares to 46% for both Army and RAF spouses.

Figure 4.6: Spouses who disagree they are able to find out about policies aimed at them and their family

Figure 4.6 is a bar chart that shows, RN/RM spouses are the most likely to disagree they can find out information about policies aimed at them and their family (53%). This is followed by RAF spouses (44%) whilst Army families are the least likely to disagree (38%).

When asked how they find out about support for them as a Service family, a higher proportion of RN/RM spouses said they did not know where to go to find out about support (35%) compared to 29% of Army and 25% of RAF spouses.

RN/RM spouses are also more dissatisfied with the welfare support provided to them by the Service (40%) compared to 23% for both Army and RAF spouses.

Figure 4.7: Spouses dissatisfied with the support they get from the Service when their Serving partner is absent

Figure 4.7 is a bar chart that shows RN/RM spouses are the most dissatisfied with the support they get from the Service when their Serving partner is away (53%). This is followed by RAF spouses (42%) whilst Army spouses are the least dissatisfied (34%).

Attitudes towards Service family life

These differences in experiences may impact on spouses’ views on Service family life.

Figure 4.8: Spouses feeling positive about their household income

Figure 4.8 is a bar chart that shows Army spouses are less positive about their household income (30%) compared to RN/RM (51%) and RAF spouses (47%).

However, Army spouses are the most positive about Service provided facilities and knowing other military families. This may contribute to them feeling more a part of the Service community.

Figure 4.9: Spouses who feel part of the wider Service community

Figure 4.9 is a bar chart that shows 30% of Army spouses agree they feel part of the wider Service community. This compares to 18% of RN/RM and 17% of RAF spouses.

Army spouses are also more likely to feel valued by the Service (24%) than RN/RM or RAF spouses (both 13%).

RN/RM families are more negative about the amount of separation from their Serving partner (60%) compared to Army (48%) and RAF spouses (50%).

This may contribute to RN/RM spouses feeling more negative about the effect of Service life on their family.

Figure 4.10: Spouses feeling negative about the effect of Service life on their children and their relationship with their partner

Figure 4.10 is a bar chart that shows over half of RN/RM spouses (56%) feel negative about the effect of Service life on their children. This compares to 43% for Army and 45% for RAF spouses.

The bar chart also shows four in ten RN/RM spouses (40%) feel negative about the effect of Service life on their relationship with their Serving partner. This compares to three in ten for Army (30%) and RAF spouses (31%).

RN/RM spouses are less satisfied with their quality of life as a Service family (46%) compared to Army and RAF spouses (both 54%).

Fewer RN/RM spouses agree that their family benefits from being a Service family (28%), compared to Army (38%) and RAF spouses (36%). Four in ten RN/RM spouses disagree their family benefits from being a Service family (40%) compared to 29% for Army and 33% for RAF spouses.

Feelings about staying or leaving the Service

Figure 4.11: Spouses who have encouraged their partner to stay in the Service, at least once, over the past year

Figure 4.11 is a bar chart that shows Army spouses are the most likely to have encouraged their partner to stay (76%), followed by RN/RM spouses (69%). RAF spouses are the least likely to have encouraged their partner to stay in the Service, at least once, over the past year (59%).

Fewer Army spouses would feel happier if their partner left the Service (28%) than RN/RM (41%) or RAF spouses (38%).

These results suggest Army spouses are more positive about their partner staying in the Service than RN/RM or RAF spouses.

Figure 4.12: Spouses who have encouraged their partner to leave the Service, at least once over the past year

Figure 4.12 is a bar chart that shows half of RN/RM spouses (50%) have encouraged their partner to leave the Service, at least once, over the past year. This compares to 43% of Army and 44% of RAF spouses.

5. Officer and Other Rank comparisons

This section compares results for Officer and Other Rank families, highlighting the main differences in their experiences of, and attitudes towards Service life. Just over seven in ten Service spouses are married to Other Ranks (71%) whilst 29% are married to Officers.

Mobility

Officer families are more mobile than Other Rank families.

Officer families are more likely to have moved for Service reasons over the past year (27%) than Other Rank families (19%).

Figure 5.1: Number of times families have moved over the past five years

Figure 5.1 is two stacked bar charts that show nearly half of Officer families (49%) have moved at least twice over the past five years. This compares to 35% for Other Rank families. Other Rank families are more likely to have not moved over the past five years (40%) than Officer families (31%).

Separation

Officer spouses are less likely to live with their Serving partner whilst Other Rank spouses experienced more separation from their Serving partner over the past year.

A higher proportion of Officer spouses live separately from their Serving partner (29%) than Other Rank spouses (21%).

Other Rank spouses are more likely to have experienced separation of more than three months in the past year (32%) than Officer spouses (27%).

Housing

Figure 5.2: Home ownership by Rank group

Figure 5.2 is a bar chart that shows over three-quarters of Officer families (77%) own a home compared to about half of Other Rank families (49%).

Figure 5.3: Type of accommodation families live in

Figure 5.3 contains two stacked bar charts that show Other Rank families are more likely to live in SFA (64%) than Officer families (49%).

Officer families are more likely to live in their own home (42%) than Other Rank families (31%).

Employment and training

Employed refers to those in full-time, part-time or self-employment.

Other Rank spouses are less likely to be employed (79%) than Officer spouses (85%).

Other Rank spouses are more likely to have looked for a job in the past year (38%) than Officer spouses (33%).

Figure 5.4: Spouses unable to access Further or Higher education

These results are subset to those who needed to access Further or Higher education

Figure 5.4 is a bar chart that shows about three in ten Other Rank spouses (31%) were unable to access Further or Higher Education. This compares to about two in ten for Officer spouses (19%).

Families with children

Other Rank families are more likely to have a younger child. A higher proportion of Other Rank families have a child aged under five (34%) than Officer families (27%).

Other Rank families are also more likely to have a child aged under 11 (61%), than Officer families (53%).

Conversely, a higher proportion of Officer families have a child aged 18 or over (20%) compared to Other Rank families (13%).

However, there is little difference between the proportion of Officer and Other Rank families with school-aged children (53% and 55% respectively).

Figure 5.5: Families with a child at a state school

These results are subset to families with school-aged children.

Figure 5.5 is a bar chart that shows, of those families with school-aged children, 83% of Other Rank families have a child at a state school compared to 66% of Officer families.

Officer families with school-aged children are more likely to have a child at an independent day school (16%) or an independent boarding school (21%) than Other Rank families (5% and 7% respectively).

As a result, Officer families are more likely to be in receipt of Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) (22%) than Other Rank families (8%).

Continuity of Education Allowance assists Service personnel with boarding school fees to achieve the continuity of education for their children that would otherwise not be possible if their children accompanied them on frequent assignments both at home and overseas.

This may help explain why there is no difference between the proportions of families with a child who changed school for Service reasons, despite higher mobility for Officer families.

Amongst those families with school-aged children who needed childcare, Other Rank families are more likely to use the MOD’s Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme (49%) than Officer families (39%).

The Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme helps working families with the cost of wraparound childcare for children aged between 4-11 years old.

Communication and welfare support

There is some evidence that Other Rank spouses are less likely to know where to go for support if they need it.

For example, when asked where they go to find out about support for them as a Service family, three in ten Other Rank spouses (31%) said they did not know where to go to find out this information. This compares to 26% of Officer spouses.

Also, when asked about specific types of support, Other Rank spouses were less likely to have heard of some. For example, 73% of Other Rank spouses have heard of the single Service Families Federations compared to 79% of Officer spouses.

However, there are no differences between the proportions who do not receive any communication from the Service nor those who agree they can get the information they need about support from the Service.

Figure 5.6: Spouses satisfied or dissatisfied with the welfare support provided to them by the Service

Figure 5.6 contains two stacked bar charts that show Officer spouses are less satisfied with the welfare support they get from the Service (29%) compared to Other Rank spouses (40%).

Officer spouses are also less satisfied with the support they get when their Serving partner is absent (19%) compared to Other Rank spouses (27%).

Attitudes towards Service family life

Views between Officer and Other Rank spouses differ, with Other Rank spouses being less positive about some aspects of Service life and Officer spouses more negative about others.

Figure 5.7: Spouses who feel positive about their household income

Figure 5.7 is a bar chart that shows Other Rank spouses are less positive about their household income (35%) than Officer spouses (46%).

Differences in views on household income may reflect lower employment rates amongst Other Rank spouses and higher levels of pay for Officers than Other Ranks.

Figure 5.8: Spouses who feel positive about knowing other military families

Figure 5.8 is a bar chart that shows Other Rank spouses are less positive about knowing other military families (37%) than Officer spouses (50%).

Other Rank spouses are also less likely to agree they feel part of the wider Service community (22%) than Officer spouses (27%).

Figure 5.9: Spouses satisfied with their quality of life as a Service family

Figure 5.9 is a bar chart that shows Other Rank spouses are less satisfied with their quality of life as a Service family (51%) than Officer spouses (56%).

Last year there was no difference in this measure due to satisfaction amongst Officer spouses falling from 56% in 2023 to 49% in 2024. Satisfaction has now returned to 2023 levels and hence Officer spouses are, once again, more satisfied than Other Rank spouses.

There is no difference in the proportion dissatisfied with the quality of their life as a Service family between Officer and Other Rank spouses.

Several results fell amongst Officer spouses last year. This may have been due, in part, to the announcement of the Modernised Accommodation Offer whilst FamCAS 2024 was live.

However, in response to feedback and concerns raised following these communications, changes to family accommodation entitlements were paused in February 2024 to enable a further review to take place.

Despite these more positive views, Officer spouses feel more negative than Other Rank spouses about other aspects of Service family life.

Figure 5.10: Spouses feeling negative about the effect of Service life on their career

Figure 5.10 is a bar chart that shows that Officer spouses feel more negative about the effect on their career (62%) than Other Rank spouses (51%).

Officer spouses are also more negative about the amount of separation from their Serving partner (55%) compared to Other Rank spouses (49%).

This may contribute to Officer spouses feeling more negative about the effect of Service life on their relationship with their partner (36%) compared to Other Rank spouses (30%).

Figure 5.11: Spouses agree or disagree they feel valued by the Service

Figure 5.11 contains two stacked bar charts that show fewer Officer spouses agree (15%) and more disagree (58%) that they feel valued by the Service compared to Other Rank spouses (20% agree and 53% disagree).

The proportion of Other Rank spouses who agree has increased from 15% in 2024 to 20% this year. This is above all previous results, except for the 19% reported in 2021.

Feelings about staying or leaving the Service

Figure 5.12: Spouses who have encouraged their partner to stay in the Service, at least once over the past year

Figure 5.12 is a bar chart that shows Other Rank spouses are more likely to have encouraged their partner to stay in the Service than Officer spouses.

Just over seven in ten Other Rank spouses (72%) encouraged their partner to stay in the Service, at least once, over the past year compared to 65% of Officer spouses.

Figure 5.13: Spouses who have encouraged their partner to leave the Service, at least once over the past year

Figure 5.13 is a bar chart that shows Officer spouses are a little more likely to have encouraged their partner to leave over the past year, than Other Rank spouses.

Nearly half of Officer spouses (48%) encouraged their partner to leave the Service, at least once, over the past year compared to 43% of Other Rank spouses.

6. Overseas families

This section compares results for families living overseas against those of families living in England, highlighting the main differences in their experiences of, and attitudes towards Service life. Over eight in ten Service families (81%) live in England whilst 9% live overseas.

Data Quality Note

Due to the number of respondents from overseas (691) there may be less evidence to identify differences as statistically significant. Comparisons are made against families living in England, the country with the highest number of respondents (3,417), because this will provide more evidence to identify differences between experiences, and attitudes.

This section highlights differences on average between families living overseas and those living in England. Experiences and views of living overseas will differ by family, depending on location and many other circumstances.

Demographic differences

Amongst overseas families, there is a lower proportion of RN/RM families (13%) compared to families in England (19%). Correspondingly, overseas families have higher proportions of Army and RAF families than those living in England.

Also, overseas families have a slightly higher proportion of Officer families (31%) compared to families living in England (29%). These variations may contribute to differences between results for overseas families and those living in England.

Source: Based on data taken from JPA as of 01 Feb 2025.

More overseas spouses have a non-UK nationality (30%) than spouses living in England (15%).

More overseas spouses are women (94%) compared to spouses living in England (89%).

There are no notable differences by other demographics such as age or qualification levels.

Mobility

A higher proportion of families living overseas moved for Service reasons over the past year (39%) than families living in England (20%).

This is to be expected as many families living overseas are accompanying their Service partner (79%).

Figure 6.1: Number of times families have moved home for Service reasons over the past five years

Figure 6.1 contains two stacked bar charts that show families living overseas are more mobile than those living in England. Nearly six in ten families living overseas have moved home for Service reasons twice or more over the past five years (59%). This compares to 37% of families living in England.

Four in ten families living in England have not moved home for Service reasons over the past five years (40%) compared to one in ten families living overseas (10%).

Separation

A lower proportion of overseas spouses live separately from their Serving partner (10%) than those living in England (24%).

Figure 6.2: Spouses by amount of separation from their Serving partner due to Service reasons over the past year

Figure 6.2 contains two stacked bar charts that show families living overseas experience less separation due to Service reasons than those living in England.

Half of families living overseas experienced separation of less than one month (51%) compared to 39% of families living in England.

Three in ten families living in England experienced separation of more than three months (31%) compared to 17% of families living overseas.

Housing

Figure 6.3: Type of accommodation families live in by location

Figure 6.3 contains two stacked bar charts that show families living overseas are much less likely to live in their own home (3%) than those living in England (36%).

Families living overseas are more likely to live in SFA (71%) than those living in England (60%).

Overseas families are more satisfied with many aspects of SFA than those living in England. For example, 63% of overseas families are satisfied with the overall standard of their SFA compared to 49% of those living in England.

Employment and training

Figure 6.4: Spouses in employment

Employed refers to those in full-time, part-time or self-employment.

Figure 6.4 is a bar chart that shows overseas spouses are less likely to be employed (44%) than spouses living in England (85%).

One in twelve overseas spouses (8%) are unable to work due to their immigration status.

Overseas spouses also experience more difficulties finding employment and accessing Further or Higher education.

Over the past year, overseas spouses are more likely to have looked for a job (51%) than those living in England (35%). Of those who looked for a job, 83% of overseas spouses experienced difficulties finding suitable employment, compared to 65% of spouses living in England.

Of those who needed to access Further or Higher education, 44% of overseas spouses were unable to access it, compared to 27% of spouses living in England.

Childcare

There is little difference in the proportion of families by age of children between overseas families and those living in England. A similar proportion have school-aged children.

Despite this, overseas families are less likely to require childcare for school-aged children than those living in England.

Figure 6.5: Families needing local childcare for school-aged children

These results are subset to those with school-aged children.

Figure 6.5 is a bar chart that shows, of those with school-aged children, overseas families are less likely to need childcare for their school-aged children (28%) than families living in England (56%).

Amongst overseas spouses, the top reason for not needing childcare for school-aged children was, being unable to find suitable work (27%). This reason was selected by 7% of spouses living in England.

Of those families who needed childcare for school-aged children, overseas families were less satisfied with availability (49%) than families living in England (73%). There were similar differences in satisfaction with the quality and opening hours of childcare for school-aged children.

Children’s education

Of those families with school-aged children, overseas families are considerably less likely to have a child at a state school (17%) compared to those living in England (83%).

Instead, over half of overseas families with school-aged children use MOD (Service) schools (51%), whilst 17% use independent day schools and 19% use independent boarding schools.

The MOD provides schools and early years settings in key locations overseas, these are run by Defence Children Services (DCS).

Of those with school-aged children, overseas families are more likely to have a child change school for Service reasons over the past year (31%) than families living in England (14%). This is due to the higher proportion of overseas families moving for Service reasons over the past year.

Healthcare

Figure 6.6: Families by ability to access dental treatment if needed

These results are subset to those families who needed dental treatment.

Figure 6.6 contains two stacked bar charts that show, of those who needed dental treatment, overseas families were more able to access it than families living in England.

Over six in ten overseas families (62%) were able to access dental treatment without difficulty compared to 35% of families living in England.

Three in ten families living in England were unable to access dental treatment (29%), compared to 7% of overseas families.

Access to healthcare overseas: families posted to some larger overseas units can access medical and dental care at the station Medical Centre. However, healthcare available for families varies by overseas location.

Communication and welfare support

Overseas spouses are more positive about communication and welfare support than those living in England.

When asked how the Service currently communicates with them, 35% of overseas spouses said they do not currently receive any communication from the Service, lower than the 50% of spouses living in England.

Overseas spouses are also less likely to disagree they are able to find out about policies aimed at them and their families (34%) than those living in England (43%).

When asked how they find out about support for them as a Service family, a lower proportion of overseas spouses said they did not know where to go to find out about support (19%) compared to spouses living in England (31%).

Figure 6.7: Spouses satisfied with the welfare support provided to them by the Service

Figure 6.7 is a bar chart that shows nearly half of overseas spouses (49%) are satisfied with the welfare support provided to them by the Service. This compares to 35% of spouses living in England.

Overseas spouses are also more satisfied with the support they get from the Service when their partner is absent (34%) than spouses living in England (23%).

Attitudes towards Service family life

Overseas spouses feel more negative about the effect of Service life on their career than spouses living in England.

Figure 6.8: Spouses feeling negative about the effect of Service life on their career

Figure 6.8 is a bar chart that shows 67% of overseas spouses feel negative about the effect of Service life on their career compared to 53% of spouses living in England.

Overseas spouses also feel more negative about their household income (46%) than spouses living in England (30%).

However, overseas spouses feel more positive than spouses living in England about many other aspects of Service life.

Figure 6.9: Spouses feeling positive about Service provided facilities

Figure 6.9 is a bar chart that shows overseas spouses feel more positive about Service provided facilities (47%) than those living in England (34%).

This may reflect the higher proportions of overseas families living in SFA along with the higher levels of satisfaction with aspects of SFA.

Overseas spouses also feel more positive about knowing other military families (57%) and community support for their family (39%) compared to spouses living in England (39% and 20% respectively).

This may contribute to overseas spouses feeling more part of the wider Service community than spouses living in England.

Figure 6.10: Spouses agree or disagree they feel part of the wider Service community

Figure 6.10 contains two stacked bar charts that show 35% of overseas spouses agree they feel part of the wider Service community compared to 23% of spouses living in England.

Over half of spouses living in England (54%) disagree they feel part of the wider Service community. This compares to 37% of overseas spouses.

Four in ten overseas spouses feel negative about the amount of separation from their Serving partner (40%), lower than the 51% reported for spouses living in England. As mentioned earlier in this section, overseas spouses experience less separation from their Serving partner than those living in England.

This may also contribute to overseas spouses feeling more positive about their relationship with their Serving partner (30%) than spouses living in England (20%).

Of those families with children, overseas families feel less negative about the effect of Service life on their children (29%) than families living in England (47%).

Figure 6.11: Spouses who agree their family benefits from being a Service family

Figure 6.11 is a bar chart that shows overseas families are more likely to agree that their family benefits from being a Service family (49%) than those living in England (35%).

A higher proportion of overseas families agree they feel valued by the Service (27%) than those living in England (18%).

Feelings about staying or leaving the Service

There is little evidence of any differences in views about staying or leaving the Service between overseas spouses and those living in England.

When asked how they would feel if their partner left the Service, more overseas spouses said they would be less happy (22%) compared to those living in England (13%). However, there is no difference in the proportion of spouses who would feel happier.

Nor is there any difference between spouses living overseas and those living in England when comparing the proportions who have encouraged their partner to stay or leave the Service.

7. Attitudes towards Service family life

This section explores views on Service family life including whether families feel advantaged or disadvantaged compared to the public. This section also covers voting registration, well-being, and loneliness.

Satisfaction with Service family life

Figure 7.1: Families satisfied with their quality of life as a Service family between 2022 and 2025

Figure 7.1 is a bar chart that shows satisfaction has increased from 47% in 2024 to 52% in 2025, back in line with levels reported in 2022, when this question was first asked.

Dissatisfaction has fallen from 25% in 2024 to 20% this year, also back in line with 2022 results.

RN/RM families are less satisfied with their quality of life as a Service family (46%) than Army and RAF families (both 54%).

Officer families are more satisfied with their quality of life as a Service family (56%) than Other Rank families (51%).

Feeling valued

Figure 7.2: Families agree or disagree they feel valued by the Service

Figure 7.2 is a stacked bar chart that shows over half of spouses (54%) disagree they feel valued by the Service compared to 18% who agree.

Feeling valued has improved amongst families this year. Agreement has increased from 14% last year and is now back in line with the peak reported in 2021 (18%). At the same time, the proportion that disagree fell from 60% in 2024 to 54% this year.

Many results peaked in 2021, this may have been due, in part to the Covid pandemic lockdowns and restrictions which were in place whilst the 2021 survey was in field.

Army families are more likely to agree they feel valued by the Service (24%) than RN/RM or RAF families (both 13%).

Other Rank families are more likely to agree (20%) than Officer families (15%).

My family benefits from being a Service family

Just over a third of spouses agree (36%) their family benefits from being a Service family whilst a similar proportion disagree (33%).

This has improved this year, the proportion of families who agree increased from 30% in 2024 to 36% this year, now back in line with results from 2022.

Four in ten RN/RM spouses disagree their family benefits from being a Service family (40%) compared to 29% of Army and 33% of RAF spouses.

Feelings about staying or leaving the Service

Figure 7.3: How spouses would feel if their partner left the Service

Figure 7.3 is a stacked bar chart that shows just over a third of spouses (34%) would feel happier if their partner left the Service, this compares to 14% who would feel less happy. Just over three in ten spouses (31%) would feel no different whilst 21% do not know how they would feel.

The proportion of spouses who would feel happier if their partner left the Service has improved this year, falling from 37% in 2024 to 34% in 2025.

Although still above the lowest value of 29% reported in 2021, the proportion of spouses who would feel happier if their partner left is in line with, or better than, all other previously reported values.

Army spouses are the most positive, with just 28% saying they would feel happier if their partner left the Service, compared to 41% of RN/RM and 38% of RAF spouses.

Questions asking how often spouses encouraged their partner to stay or leave the Service were introduced this year.

Figure 7.4: How often spouses have encouraged their Serving partner to stay or leave the Service in the past year

Figure 7.4 contains two stacked bar charts that show spouses are more likely to encourage their partner to stay than leave.

Over half of spouses (55%) have not encouraged their partner to leave over the past year, whilst 30% have not encouraged them to stay. This means, 70% of spouses have, at some point over the past year, encouraged their partner to stay in the Service, whilst 45% have, at some point, encouraged them to leave.

Nearly three in ten spouses (29%) encouraged their partner to stay in the Service “all the time/a lot” over the past year. This compares to 12% of spouses who encouraged their partner to leave “all the time/a lot”.

Other Rank spouses are more likely than Officer spouses to have encouraged their partner to stay in the Service, at least once, over the past year (72% vs. 65%).

Army spouses are the most likely to have encouraged their partner to stay in the Service, at least once, over the past year (76%). This is followed by 69% of RN/RM spouses whilst RAF spouses are the least likely to have encouraged their partner to stay (59%).

Half of RN/RM spouses (50%) have encouraged their partner to leave the Service, at least once, over the past year. This compares to 43% of Army and 44% of RAF spouses.

The Service community

Figure 7.5: Spouses agree or disagree they feel part of the wider Service community

Figure 7.5 is a stacked bar chart that shows over half of spouses (53%) do not feel part of the wider Service community compared to about a quarter (24%) who do.

The proportion of families who do not feel part of the wider Service community has improved, falling from 56% reported in 2024 to 53% this year. This is now in line with all results prior to 2023, except for the 48% reported in 2021.

Army spouses are more likely to agree they feel part of the wider Service community (30%) than RN/RM (18%) or RAF spouses (17%).

Officer spouses are more likely to agree (27%) compared to Other Rank spouses (22%).

Army spouses also feel more positive about knowing other military families (43%) compared to RN/RM (37%) and RAF spouses (38%).

Half of Officer spouses (50%) feel positive about knowing other military families compared to 37% of Other Rank families.

Aspects of Service family life

Figure 7.6: Spouses feeling positive or negative about aspects of Service family life

** The result for “effect on my children” is subset to those families with children.

Figure 7.6 is a bar chart that shows how negative or positive spouses feel about aspects of Service life. For example, 27% of spouses feel negative about opportunities for travel whilst 31% feel positive about this.

Spouses are most negative about:

• the effect on their career (55%)
• the amount of separation from their spouse (51%)
• the effect on their children (46%)

Spouses are most positive about:

• pride in their partner being in the Service (79%)
• job security (68%).

Views on several aspects of Service family life have improved this year.

The proportion of spouses feeling positive about Service provided facilities increased from 30% in 2024 to 34% this year. Over the same period, those feeling negative fell from 32% to 26%. These 2025 results are now back in line with 2022 levels. This may reflect the improvements in satisfaction with Service Family Accommodation (SFA) this year.

Spouses feeling positive about household income fell from 41% in 2022 to 35% in 2023. This has increased to 39% this year, back in line with the 2022 result.

This year fewer spouses feel negative about separation from their partner, decreasing from 54% in 2024 to 51% this year. Although still above the lowest value of 46% reported in 2021, this is back in line with, or lower than, all other previous results.

The proportion of spouses feeling negative about the effect on their relationship with their partner follows a similar trend to separation. This fell from 36% in 2024 to 32% this year. Although still above the lowest value of 27% reported in 2021, the proportion feeling negative is back in line with, or lower than, all other previous results.

Awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant

Announced by the government in May 2011, the Armed Forces Covenant is a promise by the nation ensuring that those who serve or who have served in the Armed Forces and their families, are treated fairly.

Figure 7.7: Spouses awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant

Figure 7.7 is a stacked bar chart that shows just over three in ten spouses (31%) have never heard of the Covenant, meaning 69% of spouses have at least heard of it.

Between 2015 and 2018 the proportion of spouses who had at least heard of the Armed Forces Covenant increased from 59% to 67%. Since then, levels of awareness of the Covenant have remained relatively stable.

Just over half of spouses (52%) know at least a little about the Armed Forces Covenant.

Officer spouses continue to have a greater awareness of the Covenant compared to Other Rank spouses. The majority of Officer spouses (87%) have at least heard of the Covenant compared to 61% of Other Rank spouses.

A lower proportion of Army spouses have at least heard of the Covenant (62%) compared to 78% of RN/RM and RAF spouses.

Families feeling advantaged, or disadvantaged compared to the general public

One of the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant is:

Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services.

In this section we look at whether families feel advantaged or disadvantaged in comparison to the public.

Figure 7.8: Spouses feeling disadvantaged compared to the general public

** The results for “childcare” and “children’s education” are subset to those families with children.

Figure 7.8 is a bar chart that shows spouses feel most disadvantaged about their employment (44%). This question was asked for the first time in 2025.

This is followed by nearly four in ten spouses (39%) feeling disadvantaged about family life. This has improved, falling from 44% in 2024, back to the lowest reported level, in line with the 2021 result.

AFCAS 2025 comparison

A higher proportion of married Service personnel feel disadvantaged about family life (59%) compared to Service spouses (39%).

Spouses feel the least disadvantaged about housing (20%), which has improved from 23% reported last year.

A third of spouses (33%) feel disadvantaged about childcare. The proportion feeling advantaged about childcare is increasing; from 7% in 2022, to 11% in 2023 and now 14% in 2024.

This improvement may reflect the introduction of the MODs Wrap Around Childcare (WAC) scheme in September 2022.

Voting registration

Overall, just over eight in ten Service spouses (81%) are registered to vote

This is unchanged since 2023, but seven percentage points lower than the peak reported in 2020 (88%).

Army spouses are less likely to be registered to vote (74%) than RN/RM (91%) or RAF spouses (89%).

Officer spouses are more likely to be registered to vote (91%) than Other Rank spouses (77%).

Well-being measures

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects data on well-being for the general population in their Annual Population Survey.

Figure 7.9: Measures of well-being for Service spouses

Figure 7.9 contains three stacked bar charts that show how spouses rank their well-being on three of the four well-being measures.

Nearly six in ten spouses (57%) rate their satisfaction with their life nowadays as at least high, compare to 15% who rate this as low.

Similar results are reported for how happy spouses felt yesterday (57% at least high and 17% low) and the extent they feel things they do in their life are worthwhile (61% at least high and 13% low).

A third of spouses (33%) rate their anxiety as high (6-10) whilst 23% rate this as very low (0-1).

National comparison

National well-being scores are not directly comparable to those of Service spouses due to differences in demographics. For example, national figures include a larger proportion of over 60s, who generally score their well-being higher than younger people.

However, the latest national well-being results from 2023 by sex may still provide some context. The proportion of UK females scoring aspects of their well-being as ‘very high’ (a score of 9-10) ranges between 24-35%. These are considerably higher than corresponding results for female Service spouses (11-23%).

Spouses who are employed, homeowners, or are married to an Officer, tend to be more positive across the four well-being measures.

However, there are overlaps between these groups, for example Officer spouses are more likely to be homeowners and so the differences observed may be due to other reasons.

AFCAS 2025 comparison

Married Service personnel rate their anxiety lower than Service spouses. However, they also rate their satisfaction with life nowadays slightly lower as well.

Loneliness

Two in ten spouses (21%) never or hardly ever feel lonely, whilst 18% of spouses feel lonely often/always. The remaining 61% feel lonely occasionally/some of the time.

The proportion feeling lonely often/always fell this year from 21% in 2024 to 18% this year. This is now back in line with all previous results, except the 15% reported in 2021 during the Covid restrictions.

Other Rank spouses are more likely to feel lonely often/always (20%) than Officer spouses (15%).

National comparison

The results from the April 2025 ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey provide some context to these results. For females in Great Britain, 7% feel lonely often or always. Although not directly comparable, this figure is considerably different from female Service spouses (19%).

8. Childcare and children’s education

This section focuses on families with children, particularly their ability to access childcare, satisfaction with local childcare facilities, and use of MOD or government support for childcare.

This section also looks at the experiences of families in relation to their children’s schooling.

Service families by age of children

Overall, more than three-quarters of Service families have children (78%). This has been consistent since the question was first harmonised in 2012.

The proportions of Service families by children’s age:

• 32% have at least one child under five years old
• 39% have at least one child aged 5-11 years
• 27% have at least one child aged 12-17 years
• 15% have at least one child aged over 18 years

Early years childcare

Of those families with at least one child under five, around seven in ten (71%) required early years (0-4 years) childcare.

Figure 8.1: Satisfaction with aspects of early years childcare

These results are subset to those families who required early years childcare.

Figure 8.1 is four stacked bar charts that show families who required early years childcare are more satisfied with the quality (79%), access (72%) and opening hours (71%) of their local early years childcare facility, than the cost (43%).

Of those families who required early years childcare, nearly four in ten (38%) are dissatisfied with the cost.

Figure 8.2: Satisfaction with cost of early years childcare between 2017 and 2025

These results are subset to those families who required early years childcare.

Figure 8.2 is a line graph showing the proportion of families satisfied with the cost of early years childcare from 2017 to 2025. Satisfaction with cost fell from a peak of 53% in 2021, to 35% in 2023. This decrease may have been due, in part, to cost of living pressures.

Satisfaction was unchanged in 2024, but has increased slightly this year, to 43%. Despite this increase, satisfaction with cost remains below the peak level reported in 2021.

Satisfaction with other aspects of early years childcare remain unchanged this year.

National comparison

Although not directly comparable to Service families, the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents in England from 2023 also reports much more positive views around the quality than the cost of childcare.

Childcare for school-aged children

Over half of all Service families (54%) have at least one child of school age.

Of those families with school-aged children, over half (53%) required formal childcare such as breakfast/after school clubs in the last 12 months. This figure is in line with the previous two years, but above most years prior to 2023.

This means 47% of families with school-aged children did not need formal childcare. The top two reasons for this were:

• My children are old enough that I do not need childcare (31%)
• I work flexibly so I can manage without childcare (29%)

Just 3% of families selected “suitable formal childcare is not readily available where I live” and 6% selected “formal childcare is too costly where I live”.

A higher proportion of Other Rank families selected cost as a reason (8%) than Officer families (2%).

Figure 8.3: Satisfaction with aspects of local childcare for school-aged children

These results are subset to those who required childcare for school-aged children

Figure 8.3 is four stacked bar charts that show, of those who needed childcare for school-aged children, 71% are satisfied with the quality and 70% with the availability of that childcare.

Two-thirds (65%) are satisfied with the opening hours, whilst fewer are satisfied with the cost (53%).

Figure 8.4: Satisfaction with cost of local childcare for school-aged children between 2017 and 2025

These results are subset to those who required childcare for school-aged children.

Figure 8.4 is a line graph showing the proportion of families satisfied with the cost of childcare for school-aged children between 2017 and 2025. Satisfaction with cost fell from 48% in 2021, to 40% in 2022. This decrease may have been due, in part, to cost of living pressures.

Satisfaction has recovered since then, now 53%. This is back in line with the 48% reported in 2021, and above all other reported levels.

This increase, may be due, in part, to the introduction of the MOD’s Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme.

The Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme helps working families with the cost of wraparound childcare for children aged between 4-11 years old.

Use of MOD’s Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme

Of those families with school-aged children who needed formal childcare, 46% use WAC.

Of those who needed formal childcare for school-aged children, RAF families are more likely to make use of WAC (58%) than RN/RM (42%) or Army families (43%).

Nearly half of Other Rank families (49%) use WAC compared to 39% of Officer families.

Figure 8.5: Main reason for not using WAC

These results are subset to those who needed formal childcare for school-aged children but do not use WAC.

Figure 8.5 is a bar chart showing the main reasons families do not use WAC. The bar chart shows the top reason is families not being aware of WAC (22%). This is followed by other (18%) and not being eligible for WAC (18%).

About one in seven families (14%) felt the process for WAC was too difficult or time consuming, whilst a similar proportion (13%) said they did not need WAC at the moment.

Formal and informal childcare

Free informal childcare may include grandparents, extended family, friends etc.

These results are subset to families with children.

Of those families with children, just over one in eight use free informal childcare at least weekly (13%). A further 16% use free informal childcare less often than weekly.

Nearly half of families with children are unable to access free informal childcare (46%) whilst a quarter (26%) do not need to access it.

RN/RM families with children are more likely to make use of free informal childcare at least weekly (19%) compared to Army and RAF families (12% and 11%, respectively).

Figure 8.6: Requirement for formal and informal childcare in the last 12 months

These results are subset to those families with children.

Figure 8.6 is a stacked bar chart showing over half of families with children required formal childcare in the last 12 months (55%). Just over a fifth (22%) used informal childcare only, whilst a similar proportion did not require any form of childcare (23%).

Use of childcare differs by the age of the children. Of those families with at least one child aged under five, 75% require formal childcare.

National comparison

Although not directly comparable to Service families, the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents in England reports, of those families who only have children aged 0-4, 71% use formal childcare.

Use of government childcare initiatives

Figure 8.7: Use of government childcare initiatives

These results are subset to those families who require childcare.

Figure 8.7 is a bar chart showing, of those families who require childcare, nearly half (49%) do not use any government initiatives around childcare. This has fallen from 58% in 2022, showing more Service families are now using government childcare schemes.

About three in eight families who require childcare, use tax-free childcare accounts (37%). This has increased from 22% in 2022. This may be due, in part, to the launch of the MOD’s WAC Scheme in September 2022. Families need an active tax-free childcare account to use WAC.

Just over a quarter of families who require childcare, use free childcare hours (26%). This has increased from 17% in 2024. This may be due, in part, to changes to eligibility for free childcare hours in September 2024.

Families by school type

Over half of all Service families (54%) have at least one child of school age.

Figure 8.8: Families by the type of school their children attend

These results are subset to those families with school-aged children.

Figure 8.8 is a bar chart that shows, of those families with school-aged children, 78% have a child at a state school. Just over one in ten (11%) have a child at an independent boarding school whilst 8% have a child at an independent day school.

There are some Service and Rank group differences here. For example, Officer families are less likely to have a child at a state school (66%) than Other Rank families (83%).

Army families are also less likely to have a child at a state school (76%) than RN/RM (84%) or RAF families (81%).

Officer families are more likely to have a child at an independent boarding school (21%) than Other Rank families (7%). Army families are also more likely to have a child at boarding school (13%) than RN/RM (6%) or RAF families (8%).

Families in receipt of Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA)

Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) assists Service personnel with boarding school fees to achieve the continuity of education for their children that would otherwise not be possible if their children accompanied them on frequent assignments both at home and overseas.

Overall, 12% of families with school-aged children are in receipt of CEA.

Of those with school-aged children, 22% of Officer families claim CEA, this compares to 8% for Other Rank families.

Families with a child who changed school

Figure 8.9: Families by whether they had a child change school in the past year

These results are subset to those families with school-aged children.

Figure 8.9 is a stacked bar chart that shows, of those families with school-aged children, 15% had a child change school for Service reasons over the past year, whilst 11% had a child change school for other reasons.

Nearly three-quarters of families with school-aged children did not have a child change school over the past year (74%).

Families with a child who changed school for Service reasons were less able to apply within the timeframe for a normal point of entry (53%) than families with a child who changed school for other reasons (78%).

Normal point of entry refers to the normal intake year for a school such as Reception or Year 7.

Families by school allocation

Of those families with a child who changed school over the past year (for any reason), 77% applied for a place at a state school.

Figure 8.10: Families by child’s school allocation

These results are subset to those families with a child who changed school and applied for a place at a state school.

Figure 8.10 is a stacked bar chart that shows, of those families who applied for a place at a state school, 71% received their first choice, whilst 12% were allocated their 2nd or 3rd choice.

National Comparison

Although not directly comparable to Service families, national figures on school applications offer some context: 83.5% of secondary school place applicants received an offer of their first choice of school. For primary school applicants this was 92.6%.

About three-quarters of families who applied for a place at a state school were happy with their allocation (74%). Conversely, a quarter were not happy with their allocation.

Families experiencing difficulties with their children’s education

Of those families with school-aged children, over one in five (22%) experienced difficulties with their children’s education over the past year.

The most common difficulty was obtaining support for Special Educational Needs (SEN), 8% of families with school-aged children experienced this difficulty. This is above all levels prior to 2021.

The second most common difficulty was getting a place at their school of choice, selected by 7% of families with school-aged children.

9. Communications

This section focuses on communication between the Service and spouses. This includes how spouses seek information and support, their views on the survey length and access to their local base.

The MOD recently launched the Families Hub, a one stop shop for Service families to access information about policies and support available to them. However, this was outside the period of data collection for the survey and hence this option is not reflected in the results in this section.

Views on length of this survey

Of those who completed the survey, 86% did so within 30 minutes. Three in ten spouses (30%) felt the survey was too long, whilst nearly seven in ten (69%) felt it was about right. This differed by rank and Service.

More RN/RM spouses felt the survey length was “about right” (75%) than Army (69%) or RAF spouses (66%).

About three-quarters of Officer spouses (76%) felt the survey length was “about right” compared to 66% of Other Rank spouses.

These results are based on those who completed the survey. Over a fifth of respondents (22%) stopped completing the survey before they reached this question. These respondents may have different views on the length of the survey.

How spouses heard about this survey

These findings are from a tick all that apply question. As such, the results will not sum to 100%.

Over eight in ten spouses (81%) said they heard about the survey via an email forwarded to them by their Serving partner. Over two in ten (22%) said their partner told them about the survey.

Very few spouses ticked any other methods of hearing about the survey. For example, 1% of spouses said they had heard about the survey via the Service Families Federations.

These results are only for those who completed the survey. The fact that most respondents heard about the survey via their Serving partner may impact on the results in this section, in particular current communications and methods used to find out about support offered to them by the Services.

Current methods of communication from the Service

Figure 9.1: Spouses by how the Service currently communicates with them

Figure 9.1 is a bar chart that shows nearly half of spouses (49%) do not currently receive any communication from the Service. This is higher for RN/RM spouses (60%) than Army or RAF spouses (both 46%).

Nearly four in ten spouses (39%) said they heard from the Service through their Serving spouse, this is followed by social media (16%), email (15%) and post (14%). Less than one in ten ticked the other methods of communication such as Armed Forces web sites.

These results may be impacted by most respondents hearing about the survey through their Serving partner.

Ability to find out about support and policies

Figure 9.2: Spouses agree or disagree they can find out about policies aimed at them

Figure 9.2 is a stacked bar chart that shows over two in five spouses (42%) disagree that they can find out about policies aimed at them and their family. Nearly a quarter of spouses (24%) agree.

Over half of RN/RM spouses disagree (53%) followed by RAF (44%) and then Army spouses (38%).

Figure 9.3: Spouses agree or disagree they can get the information they need about support offered to them by the Service

Figure 9.3 is a stacked bar chart that shows nearly two in five spouses (38%) disagree that they can get the information they need about support offered to them by the Service. Nearly a third of spouses (32%) agree.

How families find out about support and policies

The following question was added to the survey this year. This was a tick all that apply question so totals will not sum to 100%. These results may be impacted by most respondents hearing about the survey via their Serving partner.

Figure 9.4: How spouses find out about support for them as a Service family

Figure 9.4 is a bar chart that shows over half of spouses (54%) find out about support through their Serving partner. Nearly three in ten spouses (29%) do not know where to go and 16% have not needed to find out about support.

Nearly two in ten spouses (19%) find out about support through other Service families whilst 12% find out via HIVE/RN Family and People Support (RN FPS) and 11% via the Service Family Federations. One in ten use MOD/Government websites while a similar amount (9%) use non-MOD/Government sites.

Amongst Army families, 18% of spouses said they used the Army Unit Welfare team to find out about support offered to them.

Access to their local base

Eight in ten spouses (80%) said they would use the facilities on their local base if they were easily able to access them, an increase on the 76% reported in 2022.

Figure 9.5: Spouses’ ability to access their local base this year compared to 2022

These results are subset to those spouses who required access to their local base.

Figure 9.5 is two stacked bar charts comparing spouses’ ability to access their local base in 2025 with 2022. It shows that access has improved since 2022, when this question was first asked.

In 2025, half of spouses (50%) could access their local base easily compared to 40% reported in 2022.

Correspondingly, there has been a reduction in the proportion unable to access facilities, falling from 38% in 2022 to 30% this year.

Figure 9.6: Spouses ability to access their local base by whether they share the same local base as their Serving partner

These results are subset to those spouses who required access to their local base.

Figure 9.6 is two stacked bar charts comparing spouses’ ability to access their local base between those with the same local base as their Serving partner and those with a different local base. It shows that those who share the same local base as their Serving partner are more able to access facilities.

Nearly six in ten spouses who share the same local base as their Serving partner were able to access it easily (57%), compared to 40% of those with a different local base. Four in ten spouses with a different local base were unable to access it (40%) compared to just over two in ten (22%) of those with the same local base.

Amongst those who share the same local base as their Serving partner, RN/RM spouses are less able to access their local base than Army and RAF spouses.

10. Deployment

During 2014 the UK Armed Forces reduced its military presence in Afghanistan from over 5,000 personnel to less than 500. Since then, deployments have been more dispersed over a wider range of locations. See the MOD’s UK Defence in Numbers for more information.

Views on frequency and length of operational tours

Figure 10.1: Views on the frequency of operational tours

Figure 10.1 is a stacked bar chart that shows 70% of spouses feel the frequency of operational tours is about right. Almost a quarter (24%) feel they are too often.

Officer spouses are more likely to feel the frequency of operational tours are about right (79%) than Other Rank spouses (66%).

Figure 10.2: Views on the length of operational tours

These results are subset to those spouses whose partner has been on an operational deployment within the past two years.

Figure 10.2 is a stacked bar chart that shows 52% of spouses feel the length of operational tours is about right, whilst a similar proportion (47%) feel they are too long.

AFCAS comparison

In comparison to their spouses, 17% of married Service personnel feel they deploy “too often” while 23% feel their deployments are “not often enough”.

Fewer married Service personnel feel the length of their tours are “too long” (14%) compared to their partners.

Knowledge of support

Over a third of spouses (35%) do NOT know where to go for Service-provided support while their partner is on an operational tour. Although largely unchanged since 2019, this is higher than all levels reported prior to that.

Nearly three in five spouses (58%) know where to go for Service-provided support.

Figure 10.3: Spouses who do NOT know where to go for Service-provided support while their partner is on an operational tour by Service

Figure 10.3 is a bar chart that shows 45% of RN/RM spouses do NOT know where to go for Service-provided support while their partner is on an operational tour. This differs to the 32% and 36% reported for Army and RAF spouses.

Use of Service-provided support before, during and after operational deployment

The results in this section are subset to those spouses whose partner has been on an operational deployment within the past two years.

During their partners’ last operational tour:

• 51% used Welfare support
• 56% used direct contact and support from their partners’ Chain of Command
• 57% used facilities and events to meet with other spouses and families
• 85% used lines of communication with their partner

Compared to the other Services, RAF spouses are less likely to use Service-provided support before, during or after, their partners’ operational tour.

Figure 10.4: Use of support from the Chain of Command during their partners’ Operational tour by Service

These results are subset to those spouses whose partner has been on an operational deployment within the past two years.

Figure 10.4 is a bar chart that shows 41% of RAF spouses used direct contact and support from the Chain of Command during their partners’ operational tour. This is lower than levels of use by RN/RM (62%) and Army spouses (59%).

Use of many aspects of support have fallen since 2016/2017 amongst Army spouses. For example, in 2017, 67% of Army spouses used welfare support during their partners’ deployment. This fell to 61% in 2018 and has remained stable since then.

AFCAS 2025 reports a much lower proportion of RAF personnel deployed as part of a unit on their last deployment (35%) than the other Services (ranging from 69% for the Army to 81% for the Royal Navy).

AFCAS also shows a decrease in the proportion of Army personnel deployed as part of a unit, falling from 79% in 2016 to 69% in 2025. These differences may contribute to the results shown above.

Satisfaction with Service-provided support before, during and after operational deployment

The results in this section are subset to those spouses whose partner has been on an operational deployment within the past two years and who made use of the relevant support service.

Spouses report higher levels of dissatisfaction than satisfaction with support from the Chain of Command and facilities and events to meet other spouses and families.

Figure 10.5: Spouses satisfied or dissatisfied with the support they used during their partners’ operational deployment

These results are subset to those spouses whose partner has been on an operational deployment within the past two years and who made use of the relevant support service.

Figure 10.5 contains three stacked bar charts that show the proportion of spouses satisfied, neutral or dissatisfied with each type of support they used during their partners’ operational deployment.

Less than three in ten spouses are satisfied with support from the Chain of Command (29%) whilst over four in ten (46%) are dissatisfied. Similar levels of satisfaction and dissatisfaction are reported for facilities and events to meet other spouses and families (28% satisfied compared to 47% dissatisfied).

Over a third (35%) are satisfied with welfare support with a similar proportion (40%) feeling dissatisfied.

Spouses report higher levels of satisfaction with lines of communication with their partner during their last operational deployment (62%).

RN/RM spouses report lower levels of satisfaction with welfare support before, during and after their partners’ last operational deployment.

Figure 10.6: Satisfaction with the welfare support they used during their partners’ operational deployment by Service

These results are subset to those spouses whose partner has been on an operational deployment within the past two years and who used welfare support during their partners’ operational deployment.

Figure 10.6 is a bar chart that shows 21% of RN/RM spouses are satisfied with the welfare support they used during their partners’ last operational deployment. This compares to 39% and 37% for Army and RAF spouses, respectively.

11. Employment

This section provides information on employment status, experiences of looking for a job and job satisfaction. It also covers the experiences of families who accompanied their spouse overseas.

The term “employed” refers to those in full-time, part-time and self-employment.

Spousal employment rates

In 2025, just over four in five Service spouses are employed (81%). This is above the UK employment rate.

National comparison

In 2025 the UK employment rate for 16- to 64-year-olds is 75%.

Figure 11.1: Service spousal employment rates compared to UK employment rates between 2014 and 2025

Figure 11.1 is a line graph comparing the employment rates of Service spouses and the UK national employment rate between 2014 and 2025.

The Service spousal employment rate has increased from 68% in 2014 to 81% in 2025, although it has been unchanged since 2022.

Compared to spousal employment, the UK employment rate has been more stable over the period 2014 to 2025, ranging from 73% in 2014 to 75% in 2025.

Since 2015 the proportion of spouses in full-time employment has increased whilst those in part-time employment has decreased. Of all Service spouses:

• 55% are in full-time employment, increasing from 41% in 2015
• 21% are in part-time employment, decreasing from 26% in 2015
• 6% are self-employed, unchanged since 2015.

Differences in employment rates

Less than half (44%) of spouses living overseas are employed, this is much lower than the rates for those living in UK countries, which range from 75% to 85%.

Army Other Rank spouses are less likely to be employed (76%) than RN/RM or RAF Other Rank spouses (83% and 85% respectively).

Service spousal employment rates differ by gender, with women being less likely to be in employment (80%) than men (92%).

Even after excluding any dual Serving spouses, this difference by gender remains, with 79% of women employed compared to 87% of men.

National comparison

In 2025 the UK male employment rate was 78% compared to 72% for females.

Differences in types of employment

Of those spouses in employment, the type of employment differs by gender, with women being more likely to work part-time and less likely to work full-time than men.

Figure 11.2: Type of employment by gender

These results are subset to those spouses in employment.

Figure 11.2 shows two stacked bar charts comparing the proportions of spousal employment types by gender. The charts show that, of those in employment, 89% of men work full-time compared to 65% of women.

Nearly three in ten women work part-time (28%) compared to 6% of men.

Even after excluding any dual Serving spouses, women are still less likely to work full-time and more likely to work part-time than men.

National comparison

National figures also show a gender difference in the type of employment. Of those aged 16-64 in employment, approximately 30% of females work part-time. This compares to around 10% of males.

Job satisfaction

Spouses in part-time employment are less satisfied that their job matches their skills and experience (67%) than those in full-time employment (78%).

Those in part-time employment are also less satisfied with their job overall, and that their qualifications match their job.

Seeking employment

Over the past year, nearly three in eight spouses (37%) have looked for a job.

Spouses living overseas are more likely to have looked for a job over the past year (51%) than those living in UK countries (35% to 36%).

Difficulties finding suitable employment

Of those spouses who looked for a job over the past year, 68% experienced difficulties finding suitable employment. This is an increase on the 62% reported last year.

This means a quarter of all spouses (25%) looked for a job and experienced difficulties finding suitable employment over the past year.

Of those spouses who experienced difficulties finding suitable employment over the past year, the top difficulties are:

• The location where I live (43%)
• Having a spouse who is often away (43%)
• Partner unable to assist with care responsibilities (42%)
• Extended family live too far away to assist with childcare (39%)

The proportion of spouses selecting “access to affordable and quality childcare” fell from 39% in 2023 to 28% this year.

This may reflect the uptake of the MOD’s Wraparound Childcare scheme (WAC).

Access to Further Education

Just over three in ten spouses (31%) wanted to access Further or Higher Education.

Figure 11.3: Access to Further or Higher Education

These results are subset to those spouses who wanted to access Further or Higher Education.

Figure 11.3 is a stacked bar chart showing nearly half of spouses, who wanted to access Further or Higher Education, were able to access it without difficulty (47%). A quarter (25%) had some difficulty and 28% were unable to access Further or Higher Education.

Accompanying overseas

One in eight spouses (12%) accompanied their Serving partner on an overseas assignment over the past year. This is above the 9% to 10% reported between 2021 and 2024 but is back in line with 2020.

RN/RM spouses are less likely to accompany overseas (7%) than Army or RAF spouses (both 13%).

Of the 9% of spouses living overseas, nearly eight in ten (79%) accompanied their Serving partner overseas in the past year.

Figure 11.4: Ability of those who accompanied to find paid employment overseas

These results are subset to those spouses who accompanied their Serving partner overseas in the past year.

Figure 11.4 is a stacked bar chart showing, of those spouses who accompanied overseas, 43% were unable to find paid employment overseas. Just over a quarter (27%) found employment with some difficulty and 14% did so without any difficulty. The remaining 17% did not need to find employment.

Over two in ten spouses who accompanied overseas were unable to access Service provided information before moving overseas (21%). Nearly four in ten (39%) could access information with difficulty, whilst 27% did so without any difficulty.

12. Healthcare

This section examines access to healthcare for Service families.

The FamCAS aims to measure healthcare provisions for family members not in the Armed Forces. This means, dual Serving families without children are not included in this section.

Healthcare needs

Figure 12.1: Families requiring access to healthcare over the past year by type

Figure 12.1 is a bar chart that shows most Service families required GP Services and dental treatment over the past year (90% and 88% respectively). Just over six in ten families (61%) needed hospital/specialist services whilst a quarter (25%) required mental health treatment.

Please note, GP services include nurses and midwives whilst hospital/specialist services include orthodontists.

Figure 12.2: Families requiring access to mental health treatment from 2015 to 2025

Figure 12.2 is a line graph that shows the proportion of families requiring mental health treatment follows an increasing trend, from 14% in 2015 to 25% this year.

To provide some context, a report on the “Mental health pressures in England” by the British Medical Association refers to an increase in rates of probable mental health disorder between 2017 and 2022 amongst children and young people. The report also refers to an increase in the number of people in contact with mental health services between 2016 and 2025 amongst both adults and children/young people.

The need for mental health treatment fell briefly from 22% in 2020 to 18% in 2021, before returning to an increasing trend. The requirement for all types of healthcare fell between 2020 and 2021, likely due to the Covid pandemic.

Families’ ability to access healthcare

Families’ ability to access healthcare differs by healthcare type, with families less able to access dental and mental health treatment.

Figure 12.3: Families’ ability to access healthcare by type

These results are subset to those families who required access to each type of healthcare.

Figure 12.3 contains four stacked bar charts showing families’ ability to access each type of healthcare service. Less than four in ten families are able to access mental health treatment (39%) or dental treatment (38%) without difficulty, compared to 66% of families for GP services and 56% for hospital/specialist services.

Over a fifth of families (21%) are unable to access mental health treatment and just over a quarter (26%) are unable to access dental treatment.

Families’ ability to access healthcare services without difficulty fell sharply between 2020 and 2022 and have not recovered since.

Figure 12.4: Families able to access healthcare without difficulties, by type, between 2015 and 2025

These results are subset to those families who required access to each type of healthcare.

Figure 12.4 contains four line graphs showing the proportion of families able to access each healthcare type without difficulty between 2015 and 2025. Each graph shows a drop in ability to access the healthcare service without difficulty between 2020 and 2022.

This is particularly evident for dental treatment. Between 2015 and 2020, levels of access without difficulty averaged around 65%, this fell to 41% in 2021 and then further to 35% in 2022. In 2025, 38% of families are able to access dental treatment without difficulty, an improvement since 2022 but still below all levels prior to 2021.

National comparisons

Although not directly comparable, the 2023 GP Patient Survey suggests a decline in access between 2018 and 2023. The proportion of patients reporting a “good” overall experience of making a GP appointment has decreased to its lowest level in six years, falling from 68.6% in 2018 to 54.4% in 2023.

The Dental Statistics part of this survey reports that of those who tried to make an appointment in the past two years, 77% were successful, considerably lower than pre-pandemic rates (94% in 2020).

Continuing treatment after moving home

Service families are a mobile population with 26% moving home over the past year. This section looks at the impact this has on continuing healthcare treatment.

Over the past year a small proportion of Service families moved whilst undergoing healthcare treatment:

• 3% moved whilst undergoing mental health treatment
• 7% moved whilst undergoing dental treatment
• 7% moved whilst undergoing treatment with hospital/specialist services
• 9% moved whilst undergoing treatment with a GP

Although small proportions of families move whilst undergoing healthcare treatments, of those who do, many experience difficulties or are unable to continue treatment.

Figure 12.5: Families by ability to continue healthcare treatment after moving home

These results are subset to those families who moved home whilst undergoing healthcare treatment.

Figure 12.5 contains four stacked bar charts showing families’ ability to continue healthcare treatment after moving home for each type of healthcare service. Families were less able to continue dental treatment compared to the other types of healthcare services.

Over four in nine families who moved whilst undergoing dental treatment, were unable to continue their treatment (46%). This compares to 26% of families unable to continue mental health treatment, 27% for hospital services and 16% for GP Services.

A higher proportion of families who moved whilst undergoing treatment with their GP were able to continue treatment without difficulty (46%) compared to the other healthcare services; mental health treatment (31%), hospital services (29%) and dental treatment (20%).

National comparison

The 2024 GP Patient Survey Dental Statistics also reported respondents having more difficulty making appointments at dentists that were new to them.

Of those who had not been to the practice before, 35% were successful when trying to make an appointment. This compares to 85% who had visited the practice before.

13. Housing

This section covers home ownership and reasons for not owning a home. This section also reports on the type of accommodation spouses live in during the week, where they would prefer to live and levels of satisfaction with Service Family Accommodation (SFA) and Substitute Service Family Accommodation (SSFA).

Home ownership

Nearly three-fifths (57%) of Service families own a home. This has been fairly consistent since 2011.

National Comparison

Although not directly comparable, the latest English Housing Survey reports that 65% of households in England were owner occupied in 2023-2024.

Home ownership differs by Service and Rank group.

Figure 13.1: Home ownership by Service and Rank group

Figure 13.1 is a bar chart that shows Officer families are more likely to own a home than Other Rank families within each Service. For example, within the RAF, 79% of Officer families own a home compared to 57% of Other Rank families.

Amongst Officer families, Army Officer families are less likely to own a home (72%) than RN/RM (85%) or RAF Officer families (79%)

Amongst Other Rank families, RN/RM Other Rank families are the most likely to own a home (68%), followed by RAF Other Rank families (57%). Army Other Rank families are the least likely to own a home (40%).

Reasons for not owning a home

The results in this section are subset to those families who do not own a home (43%). Reasons for not owning a home is a tick all that apply question. As such, results will not sum to 100%.

The top four reasons for not owning a home are:

• 51% Cannot afford to buy a suitable home
• 44% Living in Service accommodation is better suited to their family
• 29% Want to be able to move with their spouse when they are posted
• 22% Do not want to buy a home where they are currently located

Reasons for non-homeownership differ by Rank group, affordability is the top reason for Other Rank families (53%) whereas it is in third place for Officer families (39%).

The proportion of families selecting affordability as a reason for non-homeownership has fallen from 61% in 2024 to 51% this year. This is back in line with levels reported between 2020 to 2022 but lower than all levels prior to this.

Families living in their own home

Just over a third of families (34%) live in their own home, unchanged since last year.

Figure 13.2: Families living in their own home by Service

Figure 13.2 is a bar chart that shows families living in their own home differs by Service. RN/RM families are more likely to live in their own home (56%) followed by RAF families (39%) whilst Army families are the least likely to live in their own home (25%).

Officer families are more likely to live in their own home (42%) than Other Rank families (31%). This is driven by differences amongst Army families, there is little difference in the proportion of Officer or Other Rank families living in their own home for RN/RM or RAF families.

Very few families living outside the UK live in their own home (3%). Nearly four in five overseas families are accompanying their Serving partner (79%), so are not living overseas permanently.

Just over a third of families living in England live in their own home (36%), lower than other UK countries (ranging from 49% to 55%).

Families living in Service Family Accommodation (SFA)

Nearly six in ten families (59%) live in SFA, unchanged since this question was first asked in 2011. Again, this differs by Service, Rank group and location.

Figure 13.3: Families living in SFA by Service

Figure 13.3 is a bar chart that shows families living in SFA differs by Service. Army families are more likely to live in SFA (69%) followed by RAF families (55%) whilst RN/RM families are the least likely to live in SFA (37%).

Other Rank families are more likely to live in SFA (64%) than Officer families (49%). This is largely driven by Army and RAF families as there is little difference between Officer and Other Rank RN/RM families.

Families living outside the UK are more likely to live in SFA (71%) followed by those living in England (60%). Those living in other UK countries are less likely to live in SFA (ranging from 38% to 47%).

Fewer families (7%) live in other types of accommodation, this includes 1% living in privately rented accommodation.

Families accommodation preference

Families were also asked what type of accommodation they would prefer to live in. This section presents these results and explores how families’ preferences align with the accommodation they are living in.

Nearly four in ten families (39%) would prefer to live in SFA, unchanged since last year but above levels reported in 2022 and 2023 (34% and 35% respectively).

More families, nearly six in ten (57%), would prefer to live in their own home. Although unchanged since last year this is lower than levels reported between 2016 and 2023 (which range from 60% to 62%).

Accommodation preferences differ by Service, Rank group and location.

Figure 13.4: Accommodation preference by Service

Figure 13.4 contains three stacked bar charts that show a higher proportion of RN/RM families would prefer to live in their own home (79%) followed by RAF families (69%). Army families are the least likely to express a preference for living in their own home (45%).

Just over half of Army families would prefer to live in SFA (51%), more than RAF families (27%). RN/RM families are the least likely to express a preference for SFA (17%).

There is little difference by Rank group amongst RN/RM and RAF families. However, over half of Army Other Rank families (55%) would prefer to live in SFA, compared to 40% of Army Officer Families. A higher proportion of Army Officer families would prefer to live in their own home (56%) compared to 41% of Army Other Rank families.

More than half of families living overseas would prefer to live in SFA (54%) compared to 39% of families living in England.

Figure 13.5: Families’ current accommodation versus their preference

Figure 13.5 is a stacked bar chart that shows most Service families are living in their preferred type of accommodation (71%). However, nearly a quarter (24%) are not currently living in their own home but would prefer to be.

A higher proportion of RAF families are not currently living in their own home but would prefer to be (31%) compared to other Service families.

Satisfaction with Service Family Accommodation

The results in this section are subset to those families who live in SFA or Substitute SFA (SSFA). These families were asked how satisfied or dissatisfied they were with various aspects of their Service accommodation.

Half of families (51%) are satisfied with the overall standard of their accommodation whilst 31% are dissatisfied.

Figure 13.6: Families satisfied with the overall standard of their Service accommodation between 2015 and 2025

These results are subset to those living in SFA or SSFA.

Figure 13.6 is a line graph showing that satisfaction with the overall standard of SFA/SSFA fell to 44% in 2023. Satisfaction has increased to 51% this year, back in line with levels reported between 2021 and 2022.

However, satisfaction remains below all levels prior to 2021 except for the low level (53%) reported in 2016.

Satisfaction with most aspects of Service accommodation fell markedly in 2016 due, in part, to underperformance by the National Housing Prime contractor and changes to the SFA charging method in April 2016.

The Future Defence Infrastructure Services contract launched in April 2022 using industry partners Pinnacle Group, VIVO and Amey. This change in contracts may have had some impact on results in recent years. The performance of industry partners is closely monitored by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation as all suppliers continue to focus on how they can improve performance, service delivery and levels of customer satisfaction for Service families.

Figure 13.7: Satisfaction with response to, and quality of maintenance and repair work of their Service accommodation between 2015 and 2025

These results are subset to those living in SFA or SSFA.

Figure 13.7 contains two line graphs showing how satisfaction with response to requests for, and the quality of maintenance and repair work of SFA/SSFA has changed between 2015 and 2025.

Satisfaction with the response to requests for maintenance and repair work of SFA/SSFA fell sharply from 29% in 2022 to 16% in 2023. After increasing for the second year in a row, satisfaction is now 36%. This is back in line, or above, all previous levels, except for 2019 (41%) and 2015 (45%).

Satisfaction with the quality of maintenance and repair work follows a similar trend, increasing from 21% in 2023 to 33% this year. This is also back in line with, or above, all previous levels of satisfaction except for 2015 (42%).

Despite these improvements, families remain more dissatisfied than satisfied with these aspects of SFA/SSFA. Nearly half (49%) are dissatisfied with the quality, and 46% are dissatisfied with the response to requests for maintenance and repair work.

Families living overseas are more satisfied with these aspects of their SFA/SSFA than those living in England. For example, 52% of overseas families are satisfied with the response to requests for maintenance and repair work compared to 34% of families living in England.

14. Welfare support

This section explores families’ views around the welfare support available to Service families. This includes information on their awareness, use and satisfaction of support.

Satisfaction with welfare support from the Service

Figure 14.1: Satisfaction with the welfare support provided to me and my family by the Service

Figure 14.1 is a stacked bar chart that shows nearly three in eight spouses (37%) are satisfied with the welfare support provided to them by the Service. The same proportion (37%) feel neutral whilst just over a quarter (26%) are dissatisfied.

The substantial proportion feeling neutral may reflect the low level of use of support by Service families as discussed later.

RN/RM spouses are less satisfied (25%) than Army (41%) and RAF spouses (36%).

Officer spouses are less satisfied (29%) than Other Rank spouses (40%).

Satisfaction with support when their Serving partner is absent

Figure 14.2: Satisfaction with support from the Service when their Serving partner is absent

Figure 14.2 is a stacked bar chart that shows spouses are less satisfied with the support they get when their Serving partner is absent. Just under a quarter (24%) are satisfied whilst four in ten (40%) are dissatisfied.

RN/RM spouses are the most likely to feel dissatisfied (53%) followed by RAF spouses (42%) whilst Army spouses are the least dissatisfied (34%).

Officer spouses are less satisfied (19%) than Other Rank spouses (27%).

AFCAS comparison

AFCAS results for married Service personnel are more positive than those reported above. Over four in ten (43%) are satisfied with the welfare support provided by the Service for their family and over three in ten (32%) are satisfied with the support their spouse gets from the Service when they are absent.

Awareness of support available to families

This section looks at the proportion of spouses who have heard of support available to them.

These questions are now mostly the same across each of the Services. However, there are Service specific types of support that were only asked of the relevant Service. These are not included within the bar charts as Tri-Service figures are not available, examples of results are provided within the text instead.

Figure 14.3: Spouses who have heard of each type of support

Figure 14.3 is a bar chart that shows good levels of awareness for many types of support. Most spouses (87%) have heard of Service Padres/Chaplains.

Three-quarters of spouses (75%) have heard of the Navy /Army /RAF Families Federations whilst a similar proportion (73%) are aware of the RN Family and People Service Portal(RN FPS Portal) /Army HIVE /RAF HIVE.

Almost two-thirds (65%) are aware of the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC).

Fewer spouses are aware of the Education Advice Team (EAT)/Overseas Education and Supportability Team (OEST) (44%) or the Forces Families Jobs platform (40%). However, these are more specific services for advice on children’s education and for family members seeking employment.

Figure 14.4: Spouses who have heard of RN FPS Portal/Army HIVE/RAF HIVE by Service

Figure 14.4 is a bar chart showing most RAF spouses have heard of the RAF HIVE (91%) and nearly three-quarters of Army spouses (73%) have heard of the Army HIVE. RN/RM spouses are the least likely to have heard of this type of support (RN FPS Portal: 46%).

RN/RM spouses are less likely to have heard of five of the six support Services shown in Figure 14.3 compared to other Service spouses.

Awareness of Service specific support is also high, although again, a little lower for RN/RM spouses. For example:

• 61% of RN/RM spouses are aware of the Royal Navy Forum (RN Forum)
• 85% of Army spouses are aware of the Army Welfare Service
• 86% of RAF spouses are aware of RAF Personal Support & Social Work Service (SSAFA)

Use of support within the past three years

Use of support within the past three years is low in comparison to awareness.

Figure 14.5: Use of support within the past three years

Figure 14.5 is a bar chart showing 12% of spouses used the RN FPS Portal/Army HIVE/RAF HIVE within the past three years whilst 9% of spouses used the single Service Families Federations. Use of other types of support range from 3% who used the JCCC to 6% who used Service Padres or Chaplains.

This low use of support services may reflect the respondent’s personal interpretation of “use.” For example, they may not consider a visit to a web site as “use,” or their Serving partner may have accessed the support instead. Other support, such as the JCCC are for exceptional circumstances and so low use is to be expected.

There are some Service differences for use within the past three years. For example, 23% of RAF spouses used the RAF HIVE compared to 9% of RN/RM spouses using the RN FPS Portal and 9% of Army spouses using the Army HIVE.

Use of single Service support is also considerably lower than awareness. For example, within the past three years:

• 17% of RN/RM spouses used the RN Forum
• 20% of Army spouses used Unit Welfare Officers
• 13% of RAF spouses used the RAF Personal Support & Social Work Service (SSAFA)

Satisfaction with Service support

Only those respondents who had used the relevant support service within the past three years were asked about their satisfaction with the support. Hence, this section is based on smaller subsets of respondents, ranging from 3% (158 respondents) for the JCCC to 12% (582 respondents) for the RN FPS Portal/Army HIVE/RAF HIVE. Please refer to figure 14.5 for more information on use within the past three years.

Figure 14.6: Satisfaction with support used

These results are subset to those who used the relevant support service within the past three years.

Figure 14.6 is a bar chart that shows high levels of satisfaction (of at least 80%) amongst those who used Service Padres or Chaplains, the JCCC and the single Service Families Federations.

Amongst those who used the RN FPS Portal/Army HIVE/RAF HIVE, nearly three- quarters (74%) are satisfied.

Levels of dissatisfaction amongst spouses who used these support services are low, ranging from 4% to 14%.

Due to the smaller subset of respondents, there is less evidence of differences between Services. However, RN/RM spouses are less satisfied with the RN FPS Portal (56%) than Army or RAF families are with their use of the HIVEs (78% and 76% respectively).

Amongst Army spouses who used the Army Welfare Service within the past three years, over three-quarters (76%) are satisfied and 12% are dissatisfied.

Levels of satisfaction amongst RAF spouses who used RAF only support is also fairly high, ranging from 74% for RAF Personal Support & Social Work Service (SSAFA) to 86% for Well-being Support (RAF Benevolent Fund and RAFA).

Levels of satisfaction amongst RM/RM spouses who used RN/RM only support differs more, ranging from 50% satisfied with the RN Forum (19% dissatisfied) to 94% satisfied with Royal Navy Pastoral Workers (Aggie’s).

15. Mobility

This section looks at the impact of moving location on the families of Service personnel.

It revisits some of the questions from the previous sections and compares the responses of those who moved for Service reasons (21%) against those who have not moved (74%) over the last 12 months.

In this section, “moved” refers to those who have moved for Service reasons.

Families who moved for Service reasons

Over the last year, just over one in five Service families have moved for Service reasons (21%), however this varies by Service.

Figure 15.1: Families who moved for Service reasons by Service

Figure 15.1 shows three stacked bar charts comparing the proportion of families who moved for Service reasons, moved for other reasons and who did not move, by Service.

Army families are the most likely to move for Service reasons (24%) followed by RAF families (21%). RN/RM families are the least likely to move for Service reasons (12%).

Levels of mobility have been relatively consistent since 2017. There was an increase in 2020, driven by Army families, due to large numbers of families moving from Germany to the UK as part of the Army Basing Programme.

Separation

Families who moved for Service reasons are more likely to be living with their Serving spouse (87%) than families who did not move (74%). This is to be expected as many families who move for Service reasons will be accompanying their Serving partner.

Those who moved are less likely to have experienced separation from their partner of more than three months over the past year (26%) than those who did not move (31%). This is driven by differences amongst Army families. Separation is similar between those who moved and did not move amongst RN/RM and RAF families.

Housing

Families who moved are less likely to own a home (47%) than those who did not move (60%). This may explain why those who moved feel more negative about the prospects of owning a home (32%) than those who did not move (24%).

The majority of families who moved for Service reasons live in Service Family Accommodation (SFA) during the working week.

Figure 15.2: Type of accommodation families live in

Figure 15.2 contains two stacked bar charts that show a lower proportion of families who moved live in their own home (6%) compared to those who did not move (41%).

A higher proportion of families who moved live in SFA (85%) compared to those who did not move (53%).

This may explain, in part, why those who moved for Service reasons feel more positive about Service provided facilities (46%) than those who did not move (31%).

Service provided facilities includes Service Family Accommodation (SFA).

When asked where they would prefer to live, families who moved express more of a preference for living in SFA (56%) compared to those who did not move (35%).

Correspondingly, those who did not move express more of a preference for living in their own home (62%) compared to those who moved (38%).

However, fewer families who moved are living in their preferred type of accommodation (62%) compared to families who did not move (74%).

Just under a third of families who moved (32%) are not living in their own home but would prefer to be, compared to 22% of families who did not move.

Employment

Those who moved for Service reasons are less likely to be employed than those who did not move.

Employed refers to those in full-time, part-time and self-employment.

Figure 15.3: Spouses in employment

Figure 15.3 is a bar chart that shows 68% of spouses who moved are employed, lower than the 85% for spouses who did not move.

Spouses who moved are more likely to have looked for a job over the past year (52%) than those who did not move (32%).

Of those who looked for a job in the past year, almost three in four spouses who moved experienced difficulties finding suitable employment (73%). This compares to 66% of spouses who did not move.

These factors may contribute to spouses who moved feeling more negative about the effect on their career (60%) than those who did not move (52%).

Access to healthcare

Figure 15.4: Families by ability to access dental treatment

These results are subset to those who needed dental treatment.

Figure 15.4 contains two stacked bar charts showing families who moved are less able to access dental treatment than those who did not move.

Over a third of families who moved were unable to access dental treatment (35%) compared to 23% of those who did not move.

Three in ten families who moved were able to access dental treatment without difficulties (29%) compared to 41% of families who did not move.

Although there are no other differences in access to healthcare services, these difficulties accessing dental care may contribute to families who moved feeling more disadvantaged about access to NHS care (37%) than families who did not move (26%).

Childcare

Families who moved are less likely to have children (73%) than those who did not move (79%). However, there is no difference in the proportion of families with school-aged children.

Of those who needed early years childcare, fewer families who moved were able to access it (81%) compared to those who did not move (92%).

Figure 15.5: Families satisfied with opening hours of their local early years childcare

These results are subset to those who needed early years childcare.

Figure 15.5 is a bar chart that shows families who moved are less satisfied with opening hours of their local early years childcare (59%) than those who did not move (74%). Families who moved are also less satisfied with access and quality of their local early years childcare than those who did not move. These factors may contribute to families who moved and have children, feeling more disadvantaged about childcare (40%) compared to those who did not move (31%).

Children’s education

Of families with school-aged children, those who moved are less likely to have a child at a state school (63%) compared to those who did not move (82%).

Families with school-aged children who moved are more likely to have a child at an independent boarding school (27%) than those who did not move (7%).

As a result, they are also more likely to be in receipt of Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA), 29% compared to 8%.

Families who moved are much more likely to have a child change school for Service reasons than those who did not move.

Figure 15.6: Families with a child who changed school for Service reasons

These results are subset to those with school-aged children.

Figure 15.6 is a bar chart that shows, of those with school-aged children, families who moved are much more likely to have a child change school for Service reasons (61%) than those who did not move (3%).

Figure 15.7: Families who experienced difficulties with their children’s schooling over the past year

These results are subset to those with school-aged children.

Figure 15.7 is a bar chart that shows, of those with school-aged children, families who moved are more likely to have experienced difficulties with their children’s schooling (38%) compared to those who did not move (18%).

This difference is likely due, at least in part, to the larger proportion of children changing school for Service reasons amongst families who have moved.

Communication and welfare support

There is some evidence that families who moved are more able to access information than those who did not move.

Figure 15.8: Families who agree or disagree they are able to find out about policies aimed at them and their families

Figure 15.8 contains two stacked bar charts that show 28% of families who moved can find out about policies aimed at them and their families. This compares to 23% of families who did not move. Families who moved are less likely to disagree (36%) than those who did not move (44%).

Families who moved are also more likely to agree they can get the information they need about support from the Service (37%) than those who did not move (31%).

Families who moved are more satisfied with the support from the Service when their serving partner is absent (29%) than those who did not move (23%).

Attitudes to Service life

Moving home can cause upheaval for Service families, such as finding employment or changing their child’s school. The previous findings show those who moved are less likely to be employed, less likely to own a home and more likely to have difficulties with their children’s education.

These challenges may explain some of the differences between views on Service family life.

Figure 15.9: Spouses who feel negative about aspects of Service life

Figure 15.9 is a bar chart that shows spouses who moved feel more negative about the effect on their career, the number of house moves and household income than those who did not move.

Six in ten spouses who moved feel more negative about the effect on their career (60%) compared to 52% of those who did not move.

Nearly half of spouses who moved feel negative about the number of house moves (49%) compared to 26% of those who did not move.

Three in eight spouses who moved feel negative about household income (38%) compared to 30% of those who did not move.

However, spouses who moved feel more positive about other aspects of Service life such as knowing other military families (47%) and community support for their family (26%) than those who did not move (39% and 21% respectively).

These, together with higher proportions living in SFA, may contribute to spouses who moved being more likely to feel part of the wider Service community.

Figure 15.10: Spouses who agree or disagree they feel part of the wider Service community

Figure 15.10 contains two stacked bar charts that show 32% of spouses who moved agree they feel part of the wider Service community compared to 22% of those who did not move.

Over half of spouses who did not move, disagree they feel part of the wider Service community (55%) compared to 43% of those who moved.

Spouses who moved feel less negative about separation from their Serving partner (46%) than those who did not move (52%). As mentioned earlier, spouses who moved are more likely to live with their Serving partner and less likely to experience separation of more than three months.

Views and experiences around separation may contribute to spouses who moved feeling more positive about the effect of Service life on their family.

Of those who moved, 24% feel positive about the effect of Service life on their relationship with their partner, compared to 19% of those who did not move.

Of those with children, spouses who moved also feel more positive about the effect of Service life on their children (22%) than those who did not move (16%).

Figure 15.11: Spouses agree their family benefits from being a Service family

Figure 15.11 is a bar chart that shows spouses who moved are more likely to agree their family benefits from being a Service family (43%) than those who did not move (34%).

Despite having these more positive views, spouses who moved also feel more disadvantaged about family life (43%) than those who did not move (38%).

Feelings about staying or leaving the Service

Figure 15.12: How spouses would feel if their partner left the Service

Figure 15.12 contains two stacked bar charts that show fewer spouses who moved would feel happier if their partner left the Service (29%) than those who did not move (34%).

Spouses who moved are also more likely to feel less happy if their partner left the Service (18%) than those who did not move (13%).

However, there is no evidence of a difference in the proportions of spouses encouraging their Serving partner to stay or leave between those who moved and those who did not move.

16. Methodology

Target Population

The target population for FamCAS 2025 was the spouses/civil partners of all trained UK Regular Armed Forces personnel including Gurkhas but excluding Special Forces. There are some single Service differences between further exclusions.

RN/RM now conduct a census of all spouses/civil partners of Service personnel so make no further exclusions. Army and RAF exclude personnel on operational deployments or attending training courses at the time the survey sample was drawn from the Joint Personnel Administration system (JPA).

The survey

FamCAS was only available online this year and was in field from 10th February 2025 to 7th April 2025.

An e-mail invite to the online questionnaire is sent to the Serving person who is asked to forward the invite onto their spouse/civil partner.

Wider methods of communications such as posters and web articles are also used.

The survey is anonymous, the data does not contain any identifier which can be linked back to the Service person or their spouse/civil partner. Individual level data are only available to a small group of civilian researchers working on the analysis and report production.

The sample

The total FamCAS 2025 sample consisted of 28,088 Service personnel selected under a (disproportionate) stratified simple random sampling process.

The respondents

4,839 responses were used in the FamCAS 2025 analysis, giving an overall response rate of 17%.

A table of response rates by Service and rank group is provided within the reference tables (Annex B) published alongside this report on the FamCAS webpage.

Weighting methodology and non-response

Due to the sample design and the differences in non-response, responses are weighted by Service, rank and broad location to correct for the bias caused by over or under-representation.

Full details on each weighting class and the corresponding weights are provided within the reference tables (Annex B) published alongside this report on the FamCAS webpage.

Margins of error around estimates

Margins of error for each question can be found in reference tables published alongside this report on the FamCAS website.

Estimates at the Tri-Service level typically have a margin of error within 2%, whilst for each Service the margin of error is usually within 4%. Margins of error of estimates for Officer and Other Rank families by Service are typically around 5%.

Margins of error will be higher for smaller subsets. For example, estimates for families living in Wales can have a margin of error of around 8%. The response rate for Wales is similar to the overall response rate, but there are fewer Service families living in Wales than England. As such, about 170 families living in Wales responded to the survey leading to higher margins of error around estimates.

Analysis and statistical tests

Attitudinal questions in the questionnaires have generally been regrouped to assist in analysing results and to aid interpretation. For example, questions with a 5-point satisfaction response will be regrouped to a 3-point scale. This is done by grouping “Very Satisfied” and “Satisfied” into a single “Satisfied” group and similarly for dissatisfied.

Missing values, where respondents have not provided a valid response, or ‘don’t know’ or ‘not applicable’ responses have not always been included in the analysis. If they have been excluded, then this will be detailed in the table footnotes.

Some questions are filtered to exclude invalid responses. For example, questions about children’s schooling will be subset to those respondents with school-aged children. These “subsets” are detailed in the table footnotes.

As a result of these exclusions the unweighted counts (or ‘n’) will vary from question to question and these are shown within the reference tables published alongside this report on the FamCAS webpage.

Estimated proportions are rounded to the nearest whole number, as a result they will not always sum to 100%. Similarly, percentages shown on charts within the report may not always sum to 100%. Any combined results are summed from unrounded values. As such, combined results may not always correspond with sums from published tables.

Where applicable, Z tests at a 1% alpha level are used to test whether 2025 results are significantly different to previous years. A statistically significant difference means that there is enough evidence that the change observed is unlikely to be due to chance variation (less than a 1% probability that the difference is the result of chance alone).

Format of the reference tables

Reference tables are published separately to the report on the FamCAS webpage.

Each reference table refers to a question asked in the survey and includes estimates of the proportion of the population by each response category. Each table provides results by Service and by Officer/Other Rank with the total column for all ranks.

Excel tables are also available with additional breakdown of the spouse/civil partners broad location (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales & Non-UK), which are provided at Annex C.

Section 10 of Annex B provides a subset of tables that compare results of those who moved for Service reasons over the past year against those who did not move, with results presented by Service.

17. Further Information

Rounding

Where rounding has been used, totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not equal the sums of their rounded parts.

Revisions

There are no revisions to this publication of FamCAS.

Corrections to the published statistics will be made if errors are found, or if figures change because of improvements to methodology or changes to definitions. When making corrections, we will follow the Ministry of Defence Statistics, revisions and corrections policy. All corrected figures will be identified by the symbol [r], and an explanation will be given of the reason for and size of the revision. Corrections which would have a significant impact on the utility of the statistics will be corrected as soon as possible, by reissuing the publication. Minor errors will also be corrected, but for convenience these corrections may be timed to coincide with the next release of the publication.

Contact us

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