Dan Jarvis calls for tougher Government action on winter deaths which hit thousands unnecessarily

Dan Jarvis today calls on the Government to reduce excess winter deaths, which rose to 43,900 2014/15 – a staggering 26,440 increase from the year before.

“We must have a national strategy for preventing avoidable deaths during cold weather – and it must should come early enough in the year to be effective”, the Barnsley Central MP is expected to say later in a parliamentary debate he has called on the issue.

He will also demand that any scheme should include linked-up efforts across Government departments with independent assessment of the success of the schemes and to criticise the Government for the lack of a co-ordinated approach for their  current initiatives.

The former Labour frontbencher has also launched a petition, which echoes the demand Government develop a strategic approach to tackle the issue.

“It is unacceptable that each year tens of thousands of people die unnecessarily. The number of people dying could be reduced if the government took bolder action and had a coordinated plan to reduce excess winter deaths,” Jarvis added.

Excess winter deaths are linked to inadequate measures to protect from cold weather, such as expensive fuel bills and poor insulation, as well as poor planning from public health officials.

The problem disproportionately affects groups such as the elderly, who are at much greater risk of developing respiratory diseases and dying from dementia during the winter months, and women, who made up 58 per cent of last year’s unnecessary winter deaths.

The UK suffers from far higher levels of excess winter mortalities than a number of traditionally colder countries including Sweden and Finland.