ALMOST 5,000 people in Britain died last year as a result of living in cold and damp homes, an analysis of official data revealed today.

The figures, compiled by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, will be presented to MPs this morning at the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee’s inquiry into government preparations for winter.

The coalition calculated that of the 21,890 excess winter deaths in 2022-23, 21.5 per cent were caused by living in cold homes.

It comes as a report card by the Warm This Winter campaign on the government’s progress against its eight key measures to tackle the energy bills crisis, including providing financial support for those most in need, has revealed that on half of these, ministers are making no progress.

The report card found that on one measure, the government has taken backwards steps that will deepen the country’s reliance on expensive fossil fuels by failing to reduce Britain’s gas exports.

Coalition co-ordinator Simon Francis, who will be among consumer groups giving evidence to the committee, said: “Thousands of people die every year in cold damp homes and countless more turn to the NHS as existing health conditions worsen due to living in such conditions.

“Fuel poverty is a public health crisis, but it can only be addressed by economic and engineering solutions.

“Many of the solutions do not need to place extra burden on the Treasury and we expect MPs to ensure ministers and the energy industry do much more to help those most in need this winter.”