fuel poverty in Wales

One of the coldest winters in a century saw Welsh people risking their health by switching off heating in the face of rising energy bills, a report has found.

The Bevan Foundation report said some families also plunged themselves into debt or went without food in an effort to afford to heat their homes.

James Radcliffe, author of the Bevan Foundation report, Coping with Cold, said: “The combination of rising energy prices and the return of colder winters means more people are affected by fuel poverty.It is clear that the target of eliminating fuel poverty by 2018 will not be met through the current strategy... is unacceptable that the UK has such a high rate of excess deaths over the winter compared to countries like Sweden which have even colder weather.”

The Bevan Foundation research found people were cutting back on food to pay for energy or even going without warmth to keep bills low. Just under a third never increased their heating in the cold.