ABSTRACT

The link between poverty and ill health has long been obvious, but it was not until Sir Douglas Black produced his report on the subject in 1980 that it became official. The preceding chapters underline the fact that poverty associated with poor housing is a major contributory factor to illness and premature death. This is now acknowledged in a Government document Fuel Poverty: The New HEES [DETR 1999] which defines fuel poverty as households which have to spend over 10% of income on fuel “to maintain a satisfactory heating regime” plus adequate lighting and the running of typical appliances. According to the 1996 English House Condition Survey, [DoE 1996] at least 4.3 million households come into this category. The DETR document goes on to say:

“The principal effects of fuel poverty are health related, with children, the old, the sick and the disabled most at risk. Cold homes are thought to exacerbate existing illnesses such as asthma and reduced resistance to infections” [DETR 1999]

The various contributors to the book remove any doubts there may be about the linkage. Increasingly damp as well as cold is emerging as a major health hazard. Damp generates mould and mould spores can trigger allergies and asthma attacks. Some moulds are toxic, as in the genus Penicillium which can damage lung cells. It was confidence in the connection between damp homes and asthma that justified the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Health Authority in directing £300,000 via District Councils to thermally improving homes of young asthma patients (Chapter 12). This was undertaken as much as an investment opportunity as a remediation intervention. The outcome was that the savings to the NHS exceeded the annual equivalent cost of the house improvements. The report on this enterprise, sponsored by the EAGA Charitable Trust, states: “This study provides the first evaluation of health outcomes following housing improvements”. [EAGA 1999] It will surely be the first of many since it provides hard evidence of cost effectiveness. At the opposite end of the

country, almost a quarter of all homes suffer from damp in Scotland. (National Housing Agency for Scotland).