Tim Loughton MP today helped the fight to save lives this winter in East Worthing and Shoreham by signing up to the Age UK Winter Pledge.
Last year over 24,000 people aged over 65 across the UK died unnecessarily during the winter and Tim agrees with Age UK that this figure must come down. The South East of England had the highest amount of excess winter deaths in the UK with 4280.
“By signing the Age UK pledge, I am committing to working with the charity to help ensure all my older constituents are prepared for winter by knowing the dangers of cold weather and how they can guard against them.”
By signing up to the Age UK pledge Tim is committing to:
· Raising awareness of the dangers to health of cold weather and cold homes
· Working with his/her local Age UK to tackle the local priorities for older people
· Challenging energy providers to produce simple tariffs to make it easier for people to lower their bills.
· Promoting preventative measures that older people can take before a cold spell
· Encouraging all sectors of the local community to make tackling excess winter deaths a priority
· Ensuring that all his/her constituents are prepared for winter
Age UK is working in partnership with the Met Office to alert vulnerable older people when a cold snap is expected, sending out key messages on how to keep warm and well.
The pledge is part of Age UK’s annual Spread the Warmth campaign. The Charity and its local and national partners are aiming to make winter warmer for 360,000 older people by providing information, advice and practical services to help keep warm and well in the colder winter months, preventing many thousands from being left isolated and alone. These include getting warm and nutritious meals to older people, helping to keep homes warm, and giving free information and advice 365 days a year.
Older people and their families can call Age UK Advice for free on 0800 169 65 65, where they can also order a free copy of ‘Winter Wrapped Up’, a guide funded by E.ON. Alternatively they can visit www.spreadthewarmth.org.uk to download the guide, get more information about Spread the Warmth and find out where their local Age UK office or shop is. There will be lots of ways to help Age UK Spread the Warmth this winter. People can make a donation simply by calling 0800 169 87 87 or visiting www.spreadthewarmth.org.uk.