Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of home energy efficiency interventions on human health.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is leading a project looking at the health impacts of living in cold homes.

BEIS is working in collaboration with the Department for Work and Pensions, Public Health England and NHS Digital to understand and quantify the cost to the health service arising from households that underheat their homes requiring more hospital care, compared to similar households who heat their homes adequately. The study will also consider the impact of households who subsequently make energy efficiency improvements and whether this leads to a reduction in hospital care required.

The study is set to conclude later in the year.