New cold weather deaths figures are tragic and shameful says NPC
A shocking 2,500 people died in England last winter as a result of freezing temperatures according to the latest report on cold mortality by the UK Health Security Agency.
NPC joined anti-fuel poverty campaigners in pointing to the government's decision to end Winter Fuel Payments for many pensioners as a factor in the new figures.
The End Fuel Poverty Coalition, which includes NPC, told the Morning Star that restricting eligibility for the payments “would leave vulnerable older people exposed, and these figures show the deadly consequences of failing to protect those most at risk.”
NPC general secretary Jan Shortt added that these “figures should be to the shame of the government who consistently say that they are working to make things better.”
She said: “Older people and those on low incomes have a decision to make when the weather turns cold. They ration their heating, turn it off altogether, cut down on cooking hot meals.
“When will we see a change in attitude that enables us all to have access to reasonably priced energy, fully and properly insulated homes free of dampness? It is too late for those who have lost their lives to winter conditions.”
In its first ever report on the matter, the agency said three cold episodes between November 2024 and January 2025 had driven the high death count.
The most intense episode in early January saw 1,630 deaths over a six-day period, with researchers saying older people were most affected.
End Fuel Poverty Coalition Coordinator Simon Francis called the report “truly tragic,” saying that it “lays bare the awful reality that far too many pensioners are still trapped in cold, damp homes that put their health and lives at risk.”
He added that “volatile gas prices, poor-quality housing and a lack of adequate support have all contributed to this crisis” and that “the situation was made worse by decisions to remove winter fuel payments from many pensioners.”
Mr Francis called for further action to prevent cold-related deaths, saying: “Ultimately, the only lasting way to stop people dying in cold homes is to tackle the root causes.”
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP told the Morning Star that the findings show “our housing stock is in desperate need of insulating measures, that fuel bills are too high and that people’s incomes are stretched.”
He called for a “nationwide home insulation programme, a windfall tax on energy companies’ mega-profits to cut costs and urgently an essentials guarantee, so everyone can afford the basics: food, a roof over their head and a warm home.”