ABSTRACT
The reduction of inequalities in health is a key factor in the current Government’s health policy. At local level, Health Improvement Programmes are one of the mechanisms by which local priorities and targets are being identified and addressed. Further, the promotion of interagency working with partnership alliances and joint working between health authorities, local government and housing organisations is meant to be central to policy making. Housing conditions have been a feature on the public health agenda ever since the industrial changes of the nineteenth century with the resultant requirement for rapid provision of prolific but cheap housing for local factory workers. Poor quality housing has an effect on the health and welfare of its residents, although other social and economic factors are also important. Improvements in housing can potentially lead to better health and therefore a reduction of the burden on the NHS. However, in the current financial climate there is a need to indicate the cost effectiveness of any intervention. This chapter aims to quantify the additional level of use (over and above that for those living in warm, dry homes) made of health services, and the costs, by those living in cold damp housing in England, for health problems associated with the housing condition. This expenditure could potentially be saved were all houses to be made energy efficient.
