Families and individuals are living in fuel poverty in one in eight homes in Brighton and Hove which could equate to as many as 30,000 people.
The figures, included in a new official report, were published in May but date from 2020 – and since then, it noted, fuel prices had risen considerably.
The report said that a significant number of people died every winter in Brighton and Hove because of the cold, with an average of 144 “excess winter deaths” a year over the five years to 2018-19.
Living in a cold home because of fuel poverty had a disproportionate harmful effect on over 65s, under fives and people with health conditions such as heart or lung problems.
The report said: “Exposure to cold temperatures increases blood pressure and risk of blood clotting, heart failure, heart attack and stroke.
“It also suppresses the immune system, diminishes the lungs’ capacity to fight off infection and increases constriction of the airways, increasing the risk of bronchitis and pneumonia.
“When a house is damp as well as cold, mould is likely to occur. This increases the risk of respiratory illness, particularly asthma.”
As well as charting the extent of fuel poverty, estimated to affect almost 16,000 local households, the report also spelt out efforts to ease the problem.
It said that the government had allocated another £2.1 million from its Household Support Fund to Brighton and Hove City Council to support low-income households.
The money covers the six months until the end of September and comes after the government allocated £2.1 million from the same fund for the previous six months.
The report added: “A further extension of the Household Support Fund has also been confirmed from October 2022 until March 2023. Local details are still to be confirmed.”
A number of the measures to support people in fuel poverty are government-funded but the report also included local initiatives such as the Brighton and Hove Cost of Living Crisis Campaign.
The campaign’s Just Giving page has received more than £30,000 in donations.
The report, for the council’s Health and Wellbeing Board, said that the campaign was, “a local, public appeal to help people in poverty in Brighton and Hove with food and fuel costs, managed by Citizens Advice Brighton and Hove and Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, in partnership with (the council).”
It added: “Initially, 60 per cent of donations to the appeal will be allocated to provide help with fuel poverty and 40 per cent to pay for emergency food.
“The fund will pay for prepayment vouchers for utilities or payments into utility accounts and food parcels or vouchers.
The single most impactful action to reduce personal carbon footprint is to insulate residential accommodation. Yet, the council refuses to let people in conservation areas affordably double-glaze their windows. Walk down a street in central Hove and central Brighton and see how many double-glazed windows you can spot on older buildings. BHCC insist of very high-end, expensive wooden double glazing that costs 3 times as much as good looking UPVC. BHCC thinks we are all millionaires. No hope of many buildings in this city reaching EPC of C if the council does not change this ridiculous position. Let people affordably double-glaze their homes.
Don’t worry, the Bl@irites and the Greens are rebuilding Hove Seafront. Now tell me they don’t have their priorities right.