Islwyn MP Chris Evans has called on the UK Government to help terminally ill people with winter heating bills.
In a recent debate in the House of Commons, Mr Evans said he first asked the UK Government to consider winter fuel payments for the terminally ill in 2011.
The Labour MP’s speech comes after the Office of National Statistics revealed that last winter saw over 50,000 excess winter deaths – the highest number of excess winter deaths since 1975.
Excess winter deaths are recorded by comparing the number of deaths in any given area in the winter to the number of deaths in the summer. The death rate is almost always higher during the winter months. The difference then becomes the excess winter death rate.
The excess winter deaths rate in Wales was 32.8% last winter, which is higher than any region of England.
In a speech, Mr Evans said: “I specifically asked the Government to consider giving people with terminal illnesses an entitlement to a winter fuel payment during the time they are ill.
“The Minister at the time said he would look into that. Unfortunately, here we are seven years later and cancer patients and those with terminal illnesses are still suffering. For them and their families I call on the Government today to make it a priority to give people with terminal illnesses some comfort in their final harsh days.”
In Wales, a household is in fuel poverty if they spend 10% or more of their income on energy costs.
The latest estimate is that there are 291,000 households living in fuel poverty – which accounts for 23% of households in Wales.
In comparison, 10.4% of households in England are in fuel poverty, while 21.5% of households in Northern Ireland and 26% in Scotland are in fuel poverty.