News story

9 November 2000

RAPID RISE IN SOUTH WEST PENSIONER DEATHS LAST WINTER

Northavon MP Steve Webb has obtained figures from the Government which show that the number of pensioners who died last Winter rose faster in the South West than anywhere else in the country outside London. The figures, prepared by the Office for National Statistics, measure “excess winter deaths”, and attempt to show the extent to which cold winter weather and illness lead to more deaths in the winter than in the Summer. Whilst some much colder countries (such as Finland) do not see much increase in death rates during the Winter, Britain has a history of high rates of Winter deaths.

The new figures for 1999/2000 show that nationwide there were nearly 55,000 excess winter deaths, almost all of which were among pensioners. This is up around 6% on the previous year and is the highest figure since the mid-1970s. The figure for the South West region is 4,830, and increase of nearly 17% on the previous Winter, and the fastest rise for any region outside London. Out of the 4,830 "excess" deaths in the South West, 2,230 were pensioners over the age of 85 and another 1,600 were aged 75-84.

Commenting on the figures, Steve Webb said:

"The Government has already admitted that there is a strong link between pensioner poverty and high levels of winter deaths among pensioners. These new figures, with particularly high rises in the South West, show the price of Government inactivity in the first years of this Parliament. Much colder countries than Britain manage to ensure that older pensioners are well equipped to cope with the Winter, but successive Governments have failed to address this issue. Too many older pensioners are living in poorly insulated homes and are struggling to get by on inadequate incomes. These figures are a scandal and demand an immediate response".

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Note to editors: Detailed figures for each year back to 1994/95 for the South West, broken down by age, are available from Steve Webb on pager 07699