High fuel price ‘link’ to winter deaths

The number of “excess winter deaths” in the borough is estimated at an average of 145 a year, and although they may not all be linked to fuel poverty, a council report says “it is commonly accepted that there is a link between the two”.

A draft affordable warmth strategy, which is going out to consultation following approval by East Riding Council’s cabinet yesterday, recommends a range of measures to combat fuel poverty, which is on the rise because of rising energy costs and squeezed incomes.

Latest figures, which cover 2009, show nearly one in five (19.3 per cent) of households in the East Riding are in fuel poverty, which is when households need to spend more than 10 per cent of their income on energy costs.

This is almost double the 2006 rate of 11.6 per cent of households, but slightly better than the UK rate of 21 per cent.

Professor John Hill is undertaking a national review of fuel poverty and is expected to complete his report shortly, but initial findings show that even if only a tenth of the excess winter deaths in Britain are linked to fuel poverty, about 2,700 people are dying each year as a result - more than the number killed in road accidents.

The problem is exacerbated in rural areas like the East Riding, where 27 per cent of households are not connected to the national grid.

Suggested measures to tackle this include the introduction of bulk-buying oil clubs, where residents join together to buy heating oil at reduced costs.

The report also says those in fuel poverty may be reluctant to engage over the issue as the term is considered derogatory and it may be more appropriate to use “fuel disadvantage”.

In 2001, the then Labour Government pledged to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016.