A senior councillor has claimed that fuel poverty will mean “people are going to die” because they can’t afford to heat their homes.
Councillors were told that one in seven of the borough’s households are in fuel poverty – leaving them at risk of physical and mental health problems.
The health issues caused by fuel poverty were discussed on Monday, February 7, Climate Change Committee.
Ian Brown, chief officer for public health at Bedford borough, explained that fuel poverty is estimated using two elements; the proportion of households with an energy rating of D or below, and where a disproportionate amount of income is spent on energy to heat the home.
“The line for that is when the amount of household income they have remaining places them below the official poverty line,” he said.
Mr Brown said his report on fuel poverty was written before the details of April’s energy price cap rise was known, which he said will mean an average rise of £693 on energy bills.
“There are some mitigations, so each household in the country will receive a £200 rebate to be paid back over the following five years.
“And properties in council tax bands A to D will receive an additional £150 council tax rebate, but nevertheless this will place additional burdens on low-income households,” he said.
Mr Brown told the committee there are around 9,500 households (one in seven) in the borough in fuel poverty, which is similar to the average for England.
“Now in terms of those health impacts, there are some direct physical health impacts,” he said.
ILLNESSES
“So for example, cold homes from cold weather spells in winter can increase the risks of heart attacks and strokes, because they have a direct impact on coagulation of blood.
“It can also increase the incidence of both minor respiratory infections, like the common cold, and more serious respiratory infections including pneumonia.
“We know that damp homes which can also be a consequence of an inability to properly heat a home lead to the growth of mould and fungi, which in turn causes allergies and can exacerbate conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“But the effects aren’t just physical, worries over energy bills can worsen mental health problems, like anxiety and depression, or can cause them from scratch.
“We know as well that people suffer socially when they can’t heat their house and educational outcomes suffer as well if a child is unable to find somewhere where they can sit quietly and comfortably to study.
“Often, one of the first things that a family will do if they are fuel poor is that they will limit the number of rooms that they’re using and only heat the rooms that they need.
“So if you’re trying to complete your homework while someone else is trying to put on the Playstation and somebody else is trying to do the ironing, then obviously you’re going to struggle to properly manage that” he said.
“And we know sadly that some people will face a stark choice between whether or not they heat their home or whether or not they eat a meal that day.
“And that can cause further health problems through undernutrition or malnutrition.
“It’s clear from a health perspective that there’s an impetus to try and do as much as we can to alleviate these problems,” he said.
Mr Brown mentioned the energy efficiency advice on the council’s website, but added that due to the current cost of living “challenges”, the council could be taking a more proactive approach. He described a partnership between a council and the local CCG as an example of what could be done.
“They recognised that if some of these families can adequately heat their homes then that can potentially reduce the burden of ill health on the local NHS,” he explained.
“They see the benefits from a health perspective and potentially leading to reduced requirements for non-elective or emergency admissions, so therefore improvements in the way the NHS is functioning and potentially savings as well to the NHS.
“Working with a council team they were able to fund boiler and installation upgrades in areas with the highest levels of fuel poverty and the positive outcomes reported by the home owners and also measurable improvements in the energy performance of the properties involved.
“So just an example of how a working partnership can then help to address this issue,” he said.
“I don’t have the answers yet, I think there are creative ways in which we can identify households and prioritise them.”
Councillor Charles Royden (LibDems, Brickhill Ward) said: “We already know that the poor are disproportionately affected by fuel poverty.
“I’m really pleased that Ian [Brown] drew out the health effects of fuel poverty, people are going to die because they can’t heat their homes properly and they have corresponding health issues as a result of it, it’s really, really serious,” he said.
Bedford mayor, Dave Hodgson, said: “We may have a decision to take as a council, or the CCG or the ICS may have, it may be families with children so we can help them actually do their homework, so that may be a decision.
“It may be people in older life, but I think that if there’s limited funding we’ll have to come up with criteria with our health colleagues.
“That would be a tough decision, but it’s better to do something than nothing I would suggest,” he added.
