Bolton: Health problems afflict 1 in 10 people in poverty

According to the Office for National Statistics, more than one in ten of the people living in poverty in Bolton also have respiratory or heart problems.

This comes with separate research from the Bank of England showing that across the North West more broadly, 31 per cent of people were in financial hardship even before the recent rise in energy prices.

Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi said: “Financial insecurity grows at a time when recession looms and inflation continues to soar.

“Meanwhile, the government is asleep at the wheel and fails even to acknowledge this crisis.”

Experts say people's health is strongly linked to fuel poverty (Image: PA)

She added: “This week’s policy debate has centred on whether we should teach maths to children until the age of 18 a fundamentally unserious discussion at a time when working families across the country are struggling to pay their bills.”

The ONS figures show that around 69,020 people living in poverty in private households in Bolton as of March 2021.

Of these people 7,545 of them had a cardiovascular or respiratory condition, coming to 11 per cent.

Experts like those at the Institute for Health Equity at University College London have warned that fuel poverty can have dangerous consequences for people’s health with areas like Bolton, already coping with high levels of deprivation, likely to be hit all the harder.

Institute director Sir Michael Marmot said: “Warm homes, nutritious food and a stable job are vital building blocks for health.”

He added: “If we are constantly worrying about making ends meet it puts a strain on our bodies, resulting in increased stress, with effects on the heart and blood vessels and a disordered immune system.”

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But the government claims that it has taken a range of measures aimed at alleviating financial hardship and supporting people’s health.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We have prioritised health and social care in the Autumn Statement with a further £8billion, on top of previous record funding, to ensure people can access high quality care as soon as possible.”

They added: “We are supporting people with the cost-of-living crisis, with £1,200 of support for the most vulnerable households and have provided more than £3.4billion this year to local authorities in England to tackle issues including alcohol use, obesity and smoking,”