With fuel poverty identified as “a significant cause of excess winter deaths”, North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to implement National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidelines on tackling the problem.

Mr Isherwood raised the matter this week when questioning the First Minister on the Welsh Government’s plan for winter preparedness in the Welsh NHS.

He said:

“In 2015, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NICE, published its public health guidance on ‘Tackling Excess Winter Deaths, Morbidity and the Health Risks Associated With Cold Homes’, outlining a number of recommendations on how health and social care practitioners could reduce the risk of death and ill health associated with fuel poverty, and therefore the pressures on the Welsh NHS.

“Given that Age Cymru said last September that fuel poverty is a significant cause of excess winter deaths, how will your Welsh Government respond to the call from the Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru for these NICE guidelines to be implemented by your Government in Wales?”

In his response the First Minister made no reference to the NICE guidelines and instead referred to his Government’s Nest and Arbed schemes.

Mr Isherwood added: “Wales has unacceptably higher rates of excess winter deaths and it is absolutely disgraceful that Carwyn Jones’ reply made no reference to the NICE guidelines I questioned him about, and instead referred to a scheme which his Government is proposing to deny access to for many fuel poor households currently eligible.”