According to a report in The Sun, around 10,000 people die each winter from causes related to the cold. This winter, more than 10,000 Britons could freeze to death because of switching off their heaters, to curb the rocketing energy bills, warn NHS chiefs.
With regard to what is being termed as a “humanitarian crisis,” (because families are forced to choose between food and heat), the NHS Confederation, which is a group representing trusts across Britain has reportedly written to the Chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi – pleading to do more to tackle the staggering bills, The Sun reports.
Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, Matthew Taylor has warned that the number of people that could die this winter could tragically increase, because of the spiralling inflation.
He is quoted as saying, “Many people could face the awful choice between skipping meals to heat their homes and having to live in cold, damp and very unpleasant conditions.
“This in turn could lead to outbreaks of illness and sickness around the country and widen health inequalities, worsen children’s life chances and leave an indelible scar on local communities.”
The Sun informs that No10 will not be signing any new cost of living handouts, above those that have already been announced and Boris Johnson reportedly said that any new policies will be decided by his successor.
The keys to Downing Street will soon (just over two weeks) be in the hands of either leadership frontrunner Liz Truss or underdog Rishi Sunak.
Though both the potential PMs have sworn to make tackling mega bills a priority – they reportedly differ in their ideas about how to go about it.
Sunak has sworn to slash VAT from energy bills, thereby saving households £200. He has also pledged to spend a further £5 billion to help out the hardest hit in the UK, such as old age pensioners (OAPs) and low-income workers.
Ms Truss on the other hand, reportedly wants to slash £30 billion worth of taxes (including the green energy levy and health and social care levy).
She is also reported to have said that nothing is off the table when it comes to supporting the UK through the crisis.
Though the cuts are not expected to have a huge effect on the poorest households, Ms Truss says she will announce further plans for them if she triumphs in PM leadership race.
