Hundreds of children growing up in cold homes in Calderdale

The youngsters are twice as likely to develop respiratory diseases such as asthma, are more susceptible to mental health issues and could have lower educational attainment than children who live in warmer homes. Treating all cold-related ill health in the district is estimated to cost the NHS over £4.8 million per year.

Calderdale Council is raising awareness of the support available to help people stay warm at home, during Cold Homes Week, a national campaign run by the Energy Bill Revolution.

The local authority has schemes to help residents cope with the cold weather, from reducing fuel bills by making homes more energy efficient to providing advice on staying warm. Rising energy costs have forced people on low incomes to make tough choices about their household budget. The Better Homes scheme will be launched in spring, offering energy efficiency improvements to help local residents who own or privately rent their homes to heat them for less.

The council’s deputy leader, Coun Scott Benton, said: “Making cold homes more energy efficient will help in a number of ways, including reducing energy bills and ill health, improving academic achievement in younger people and cutting carbon emissions caused by the use of fossil fuels.”

For advice visit www.calderdale.gov.uk/housing or call 01422 392479.