MR1270 - A study of deaths (including suicides) in the UK Armed Forces who deployed to the Falklands campaign
Ministry of Defence (MOD) · Ministerial Department
Expired The latest version ended on 13 February 2023. The September 2026 register still lists the agreement, but its term has passed.
- Reference
- DARS-NIC-148468-KFJZ5
- Latest version
- v5.3
- Term of latest version
- 14 February 2022 to 13 February 2023
- Start date
- Before 1 January 2020
- Data controller
- Sole Data Controller
- Commercial purposes
- No
- Sublicensing
- No
- Files released to date
- 0
Why the data was released
Objective for processing
This Data Sharing Agreement permits the retention of the data provided under previous iterations of this Agreement for an interim period. This is a pragmatic approach to provide an active Agreement whilst enabling the Ministry of Defence to complete the necessary actions to enable a subsequent application to extend the Agreement meeting all applicable data sharing standards as published in NHS Digital’s website (see: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/data-access-request-service-dars/dars-guidance).
Mortality data was supplied to the Ministry of Defence by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (which has since become NHS Digital) for the purpose of a research study - A study of deaths (including suicides) in the UK Armed Forces who deployed to the Falklands campaign.
This study will enable the MOD to address claims made in the press and by charitable organisations that the UK Armed Forces personnel who deployed to the Falklands are experiencing a higher rate of suicide. The primary aim is to ascertain the actual number of suicides (and other causes of death) amongst the Falklands cohort, calculate rates of suicide and other causes of death, and compare these rates to those found for comparable groups in the Armed Forces and UK general population.
If an excess of suicide, or any other cause of death, is identified, then this will trigger further targeted studies with the aim of influencing policy to improve support and services to veterans of this conflict. It will also be relevant to veterans of other more recent deployments (e.g. Iraq or current operations in Afghanistan), amongst whom any such effect may not yet be apparent. Likewise it may suggest trends amongst veterans who served on operations at a similar time but about whom data is less readily available (e.g. Northern Ireland)..
Processing activities
Under this Agreement, the data may be securely stored but not otherwise processed. No new data will be provided by NHS Digital under this Agreement.
Mortality data was supplied to the Ministry of Defence by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (which has since become NHS Digital) for the purpose of a research study - A study of deaths (including suicides) in the UK Armed Forces who deployed to the Falklands campaign.
The following information provides background information on the processing activities of the original study and subsequent data sharing agreement with the then HSCIC.
MOD supplies individual level data to NHS to have the cohort flagged, fields provided are: Study ID, Surname, Forename, Middle Name, Date of Birth, and Sex. As this sensitive personal data is to be used for statistics the MOD processes it under Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 10(e) of the Data Protection Act 2018.
NHS Digital matches the supplied cohort and sends the MOD the following: England and Wales event notifications and cancer registrations, England and Wales death certificates, Scotland members and postings, Scotland death certificates, and Scotland cancer registrations including individual level data. Previously The MOD have been advised that the Scottish members and postings data was included within the England and Wales event notifications and cancer registrations file. However, the MOD are aware NHS Digital will not provide Scottish data in the future.
MOD conduct statistical analysis on the causes of death for the cohort compared to the UK general population, and publish findings in an Official Statistic. Statistical Disclosure Control will be used to protect the confidentiality of participants.
The data will be linked to MOD held demographic and Service history data using the psuedoanonymised Study ID.
There will be no requirement/attempt to re-identify individuals.
The data processing will only be carried out by employees within Defence Statistics who are substantive employees of the data processor and data controller. All employees will be appropriately trained in data protection and confidentiality.
Data will be stored on an internal secure environment (NEMESIS).
NEMESIS has full accreditation from Defence Assurance and Information Security. This is the highest level of security accreditation meaning that our system has been tested, penetration tested, and found to be secure.
NHS Digital reminds all organisations party to this agreement of the need to comply with the Data Sharing Framework Contract requirements, including those regarding the use (and purposes of that use) by “Personnel” (as defined within the Data Sharing Framework Contract i.e.: employees, agents and contractors of the Data Recipient who may have access to that data).
Expected output
This Agreement permits the secure retention of the data only and no other processing.
No new outputs will be produced under this Data Sharing Agreement.
An Official Statistic will be published within 6 months of the MOD receiving data updates on the cohort. Data will continue to be analysed annually to monitor the cause of deaths within the cohort, however scheduled releases will be every 5 years. Published statistics will continue to align with information previously released within the Official Statistic on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/causes-of-deaths-among-the-uk-armed-forces-veterans-of-the-1982-falklands-campaign
Expected measurable benefits
This Agreement permits the secure retention of the data only and no other processing.
The number of suicides and other causes of death recorded amongst veterans of the Falklands conflict will be compared with the number that would be expected amongst a cohort of the same size, with similar age structure, in the general population. Mortality rates will also be compared with those observed in other conflict cohorts.
If an excess of suicides (or more generally any other cause of death) is identified in the Falklands cohort, then this may trigger further targeted research. The aim of these studies will be to influence policy to improve support and services to veterans of this conflict. It will also be relevant to veterans of other more recent deployments (e.g. the Gulf I conflict, or operations in Iraq and Afghanistan).
Benefits reported so far
This Data Sharing Agreement permits the retention of the data for an interim period but no other processing of the data is permitted.
In any future application, the applicant will be required to provide details of the yielded benefits resulting from the study in line with NHS Digital Standards.
The previous data sharing agreement and subsequent provision of data enabled analysis on the causes of death amongst the cohort, followed by the production of two Official Statistics. In doing so the MOD was able to defend its position and dispel the myth with regards to suicide rates of Falklands veterans. The last publication in 2014 reported: The risk of dying was lower or the same as the UK general population for all causes of death and for each year, with the exception of 1989 when there was an excess of transport accident deaths amongst Falkland veterans compared to the UK population.
The processing has also enabled active surveillance of the cohort.
Datasets on the latest version
Legal basis for provision: Health and Social Care Act 2012 – s261(7); National Health Service Act 2006 - s251 - 'Control of patient information'.
| Dataset | Type of data | Sensitivity | Frequency | Confidential data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRIS - Bespoke | Identifiable | Sensitive | One-Off | Section 251 NHS Act 2006 |
| MRIS - Cause of Death Report | Identifiable | Sensitive | Ongoing | Section 251 NHS Act 2006 |
| MRIS - Cohort Event Notification Report | Identifiable | Sensitive | Ongoing | Section 251 NHS Act 2006 |
| MRIS - Flagging Current Status Report | Identifiable | Sensitive | One-Off | Section 251 NHS Act 2006 |
| MRIS - Members and Postings Report | Identifiable | Sensitive | One-Off | Section 251 NHS Act 2006 |
Files released
Files released counts only files released externally by DARS. Access granted in NHS England's own systems, such as its Secure Data Environment, is not included.
No files recorded as released under this agreement.
Version history
The register lists each renewal of this agreement as a separate row. This site has 3 versions — earlier versions existed before this site's records begin.
DARS-NIC-148468-KFJZ5-v5.3 14 February 2022 to 13 February 2023
- Title
- MR1270 - A study of deaths (including suicides) in the UK Armed Forces who deployed to the Falklands campaign
- Commercial
- No
- Sublicensing
- No
- Datasets
- 5
- Files released
- 0
Datasets: MRIS - Bespoke; MRIS - Cause of Death Report; MRIS - Cohort Event Notification Report; MRIS - Flagging Current Status Report; MRIS - Members and Postings Report
What changed from DARS-NIC-148468-KFJZ5-v4.3
Text removed is struck through; text added is underlined. Unchanged paragraphs are summarised rather than repeated.
| Field | Was | Became |
|---|---|---|
| Start date | 2022-02-14 | |
| End date | 2023-02-13 |
Objective for processing
This Data Sharing Agreement permits the retention of the data provided under
[39 words unchanged]
meeting all applicable data sharing standards as published in NHS Digital’s website
(see: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/data-access-request-service-dars/dars-guidance).
(see: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/data-access-request-service-dars/dars-guidance).
The following information provides background information on the purpose of the original study:
[3 paragraphs unchanged]
Processing activities
[1 paragraph unchanged]
The study data, including data provided by NHS Digital under previous agreements, are currently held by the Ministry of Defence.
The following provides background on the processing activities undertaken prior to this Agreement:
[3 paragraphs unchanged]
NHS Digital matches the supplied cohort and sends the MOD the following:
[47 words unchanged]
Wales event notifications and cancer registrations file. However, the MOD are aware
this may no longer be how
NHS Digital will not provide Scottish data in
the
data is provided.
future.
MOD have Section 251 support in place for this data to flow to NHS Digital so that mortality data can be returned.
[3 paragraphs unchanged]
The data processing will only be carried out by employees within Defence Statistics who are substantive employees of the data processor and data controller. All employees will
have approved researcher status and
be appropriately trained in data protection and confidentiality.
[3 paragraphs unchanged]
Expected output
This Agreement permits the secure retention of the data only and no other processing.
[1 paragraph unchanged]
This Data Sharing Agreement permits the retention of the data for an interim period but no other processing of the data is permitted.
Permission to retain the data for the interim period is a practical step to enable the study to comply with the necessary legal and ethical requirements. If, for any reason, it is not possible for the study to meet the necessary requirements, this Agreement will be terminated, and destruction of the data will be required
In any future application, the applicant will be required to provide details of the outputs that were produced and disseminated by the study as well as details of any future outputs planned.
The following information provides background information on the expected output activities of the original study and subsequent data sharing agreement with the then HSCIC.
[1 paragraph unchanged]
Expected measurable benefits
This
Data Sharing
Agreement permits the
secure
retention of the data
for an interim period but
only and
no other
processing of the data is permitted.
processing.
Permission to retain the data for the interim period is a practical step to enable the study to comply with the necessary legal and ethical requirements. If, for any reason, it is not possible for the study to meet the necessary requirements, this Agreement will be terminated, and destruction of the data will be required
In any future application, the applicant will be required to provide details of the expected benefits resulting from the study.
The following information provides background information on the expected measurable benefits of the original study and subsequent data sharing agreement with the then HSCIC.
[2 paragraphs unchanged]
Benefits reported
[1 paragraph unchanged]
Permission to retain the data for the interim period is a practical step to enable the study to comply with the necessary legal and ethical requirements. If, for any reason, it is not possible for the study to meet the necessary requirements, this Agreement will be terminated, and destruction of the data will be required
[3 paragraphs unchanged]
DARS-NIC-148468-KFJZ5-v4.3 2 June 2020 to 30 November 2020
- Title
- MR1270 - A study of deaths (including suicides) in the UK Armed Forces who deployed to the Falklands campaign
- Commercial
- No
- Sublicensing
- No
- Datasets
- 5
- Files released
- 0
Datasets: MRIS - Bespoke; MRIS - Cause of Death Report; MRIS - Cohort Event Notification Report; MRIS - Flagging Current Status Report; MRIS - Members and Postings Report
What changed from DARS-NIC-148468-KFJZ5-v3.5
Text removed is struck through; text added is underlined. Unchanged paragraphs are summarised rather than repeated.
| Field | Was | Became |
|---|---|---|
| Start date | 2020-06-02 | |
| End date | 2020-11-30 |
Objective for processing
This Data Sharing Agreement permits the retention of the data provided under previous iterations of this Agreement for an interim period. This is a pragmatic approach to provide an active Agreement whilst enabling the Ministry of Defence to complete the necessary actions to enable a subsequent application to extend the Agreement meeting all applicable data sharing standards as published in NHS Digital’s website
(see: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/data-access-request-service-dars/dars-guidance).
The following information provides background information on the purpose of the original study:
[1 paragraph unchanged]
This Data Sharing Agreement permits the retention of the data for an interim period but no other processing of the data is permitted.
Permission to retain the data for the interim period is a practical step to enable the study to comply with the necessary legal and ethical requirements. If, for any reason, it is not possible for the study to meet the necessary requirements, this Agreement will be terminated, and destruction of the data will be required.
The following information provides background information on the purpose of the original study:
[2 paragraphs unchanged]
Processing activities
NHS Digital reminds all organisations party to this agreement of the need to comply with the Data Sharing Framework Contract requirements, including those regarding the use (and purposes of that use) by “Personnel” (as defined within the Data Sharing Framework Contract i.e.: employees, agents and contractors of the Data Recipient who may have access to that data).
Under this Agreement, the data may be securely stored but not otherwise processed. No new data will be provided by NHS Digital under this Agreement.
The study data, including data provided by NHS Digital under previous agreements, are currently held by the Ministry of Defence.
The following provides background on the processing activities undertaken prior to this Agreement:
[1 paragraph unchanged]
This Data Sharing Agreement permits the retention of the data for an interim period but no other processing of the data is permitted.
Permission to retain the data for the interim period is a practical step to enable the study to comply with the necessary legal and ethical requirements. If, for any reason, it is not possible for the study to meet the necessary requirements, this Agreement will be terminated, and destruction of the data will be required.
[1 paragraph unchanged]
****
[9 paragraphs unchanged]
NHS Digital reminds all organisations party to this agreement of the need to comply with the Data Sharing Framework Contract requirements, including those regarding the use (and purposes of that use) by “Personnel” (as defined within the Data Sharing Framework Contract i.e.: employees, agents and contractors of the Data Recipient who may have access to that data).
Benefits reported
This Data Sharing Agreement permits the retention of the data for an interim period but no other processing of the data is permitted. Permission to retain the data for the interim period is a practical step to enable the study to comply with the necessary legal and ethical requirements. If, for any reason, it is not possible for the study to meet the necessary requirements, this Agreement will be terminated, and destruction of the data will be required In any future application, the applicant will be required to provide details of the yielded benefits resulting from the study in line with NHS Digital Standards. [2 paragraphs unchanged]
Unchanged: Expected output, Expected measurable benefits.
Objective for processing
This Data Sharing Agreement permits the retention of the data provided under previous iterations of this Agreement for an interim period. This is a pragmatic approach to provide an active Agreement whilst enabling the Ministry of Defence to complete the necessary actions to enable a subsequent application to extend the Agreement meeting all applicable data sharing standards as published in NHS Digital’s website
(see: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/data-access-request-service-dars/dars-guidance).
The following information provides background information on the purpose of the original study:
Mortality data was supplied to the Ministry of Defence by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (which has since become NHS Digital) for the purpose of a research study - A study of deaths (including suicides) in the UK Armed Forces who deployed to the Falklands campaign.
This study will enable the MOD to address claims made in the press and by charitable organisations that the UK Armed Forces personnel who deployed to the Falklands are experiencing a higher rate of suicide. The primary aim is to ascertain the actual number of suicides (and other causes of death) amongst the Falklands cohort, calculate rates of suicide and other causes of death, and compare these rates to those found for comparable groups in the Armed Forces and UK general population.
If an excess of suicide, or any other cause of death, is identified, then this will trigger further targeted studies with the aim of influencing policy to improve support and services to veterans of this conflict. It will also be relevant to veterans of other more recent deployments (e.g. Iraq or current operations in Afghanistan), amongst whom any such effect may not yet be apparent. Likewise it may suggest trends amongst veterans who served on operations at a similar time but about whom data is less readily available (e.g. Northern Ireland)..
Expected output
No new outputs will be produced under this Data Sharing Agreement.
This Data Sharing Agreement permits the retention of the data for an interim period but no other processing of the data is permitted.
Permission to retain the data for the interim period is a practical step to enable the study to comply with the necessary legal and ethical requirements. If, for any reason, it is not possible for the study to meet the necessary requirements, this Agreement will be terminated, and destruction of the data will be required
In any future application, the applicant will be required to provide details of the outputs that were produced and disseminated by the study as well as details of any future outputs planned.
The following information provides background information on the expected output activities of the original study and subsequent data sharing agreement with the then HSCIC.
An Official Statistic will be published within 6 months of the MOD receiving data updates on the cohort. Data will continue to be analysed annually to monitor the cause of deaths within the cohort, however scheduled releases will be every 5 years. Published statistics will continue to align with information previously released within the Official Statistic on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/causes-of-deaths-among-the-uk-armed-forces-veterans-of-the-1982-falklands-campaign
Benefits reported
This Data Sharing Agreement permits the retention of the data for an interim period but no other processing of the data is permitted.
Permission to retain the data for the interim period is a practical step to enable the study to comply with the necessary legal and ethical requirements. If, for any reason, it is not possible for the study to meet the necessary requirements, this Agreement will be terminated, and destruction of the data will be required
In any future application, the applicant will be required to provide details of the yielded benefits resulting from the study in line with NHS Digital Standards.
The previous data sharing agreement and subsequent provision of data enabled analysis on the causes of death amongst the cohort, followed by the production of two Official Statistics. In doing so the MOD was able to defend its position and dispel the myth with regards to suicide rates of Falklands veterans. The last publication in 2014 reported: The risk of dying was lower or the same as the UK general population for all causes of death and for each year, with the exception of 1989 when there was an excess of transport accident deaths amongst Falkland veterans compared to the UK population.
The processing has also enabled active surveillance of the cohort.
DARS-NIC-148468-KFJZ5-v3.5 1 January 2020 to 1 June 2020
- Title
- MR1270 - A study of deaths (including suicides) in the UK Armed Forces who deployed to the Falklands campaign
- Commercial
- No
- Sublicensing
- No
- Datasets
- 5
- Files released
- 0
Datasets: MRIS - Bespoke; MRIS - Cause of Death Report; MRIS - Cohort Event Notification Report; MRIS - Flagging Current Status Report; MRIS - Members and Postings Report
Objective for processing
Mortality data was supplied to the Ministry of Defence by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (which has since become NHS Digital) for the purpose of a research study - A study of deaths (including suicides) in the UK Armed Forces who deployed to the Falklands campaign.
This Data Sharing Agreement permits the retention of the data for an interim period but no other processing of the data is permitted.
Permission to retain the data for the interim period is a practical step to enable the study to comply with the necessary legal and ethical requirements. If, for any reason, it is not possible for the study to meet the necessary requirements, this Agreement will be terminated, and destruction of the data will be required.
The following information provides background information on the purpose of the original study:
This study will enable the MOD to address claims made in the press and by charitable organisations that the UK Armed Forces personnel who deployed to the Falklands are experiencing a higher rate of suicide. The primary aim is to ascertain the actual number of suicides (and other causes of death) amongst the Falklands cohort, calculate rates of suicide and other causes of death, and compare these rates to those found for comparable groups in the Armed Forces and UK general population.
If an excess of suicide, or any other cause of death, is identified, then this will trigger further targeted studies with the aim of influencing policy to improve support and services to veterans of this conflict. It will also be relevant to veterans of other more recent deployments (e.g. Iraq or current operations in Afghanistan), amongst whom any such effect may not yet be apparent. Likewise it may suggest trends amongst veterans who served on operations at a similar time but about whom data is less readily available (e.g. Northern Ireland)..
Expected output
No new outputs will be produced under this Data Sharing Agreement.
This Data Sharing Agreement permits the retention of the data for an interim period but no other processing of the data is permitted.
Permission to retain the data for the interim period is a practical step to enable the study to comply with the necessary legal and ethical requirements. If, for any reason, it is not possible for the study to meet the necessary requirements, this Agreement will be terminated, and destruction of the data will be required
In any future application, the applicant will be required to provide details of the outputs that were produced and disseminated by the study as well as details of any future outputs planned.
The following information provides background information on the expected output activities of the original study and subsequent data sharing agreement with the then HSCIC.
An Official Statistic will be published within 6 months of the MOD receiving data updates on the cohort. Data will continue to be analysed annually to monitor the cause of deaths within the cohort, however scheduled releases will be every 5 years. Published statistics will continue to align with information previously released within the Official Statistic on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/causes-of-deaths-among-the-uk-armed-forces-veterans-of-the-1982-falklands-campaign
Benefits reported
The previous data sharing agreement and subsequent provision of data enabled analysis on the causes of death amongst the cohort, followed by the production of two Official Statistics. In doing so the MOD was able to defend its position and dispel the myth with regards to suicide rates of Falklands veterans. The last publication in 2014 reported: The risk of dying was lower or the same as the UK general population for all causes of death and for each year, with the exception of 1989 when there was an excess of transport accident deaths amongst Falkland veterans compared to the UK population.
The processing has also enabled active surveillance of the cohort.
Register history
When this agreement appeared in, or was edited in, each monthly edition of the register. Built by comparing every edition this site holds, the earliest of which is July 2021.
-
July 2021 —
already listed in the earliest edition this site holds, so it may be older. 2 versions: DARS-NIC-148468-KFJZ5-v3.5, DARS-NIC-148468-KFJZ5-v4.3
-
April 2022
1 version added: DARS-NIC-148468-KFJZ5-v5.3
Cite this page
NHS England (2026) Data Uses Register, September 2026 edition, agreement DARS-NIC-148468-KFJZ5, “MR1270 - A study of deaths (including suicides) in the UK Armed Forces who deployed to the Falklands campaign”. Read via NHS Data Access Explorer (unofficial), https://healthdatauses.uk/agreements/dars-nic-148468-kfjz5/ (accessed [date]).
This address stays the same, but the page is rebuilt with each monthly edition, so the citation names the edition it shows. Every edition's data is kept in the facts store.
Source: datausesregister_september2026.xlsx, September 2026 edition of the NHS England Data Uses Register. Search that workbook for DARS-NIC-148468-KFJZ5 to see the original rows.