To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with Directors of Public Health on the risks posed to elderly people of not being able to heat their home to minimum temperature thresholds for health in winter 2024-25.

Ministers meet with local authorities on a range of issues. Living in a home that is cold or damp can directly impact occupants’ physical and mental health, creating or exacerbating health issues across their life course. The Government is committed to a preventative approach to the public's health. Improving housing standards and addressing hazards such as cold and damp is a key part of this.

We will continue to stand behind vulnerable households this winter. Support includes delivering the £150 Warm Home Discount for low-income households from October, extending the Household Support Fund with £421 million, to ensure local authorities can support vulnerable people and families, ensuring around 1.3 million households in England and Wales will continue to receive up to £300 in Winter Fuel Payments, and through our commitment to protect the triple lock, over 12 million pensioners will benefit, with many expected to see their State Pension increase by more than £1,000 over the next five years.

The Government will also invest an extra £6.6 billion over this Parliament in clean heat and energy efficiency, upgrading five million homes through solutions like low carbon heating and improved insulation. This will help keep people warm and well in their homes, and help reduce pressures on the National Health Service.

The UK Health Security Agency publishes the Adverse Weather and Health Plan for England, which sets out a framework for action to protect the population, including the elderly, from harm to their health from adverse weather, including excess cold, and outlines the health risks of cold homes.