§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's progress in the last 10 years on achieving a co-ordinated policy for reducing hypothermia.
§ The Prime MinisterThere has been a significant overall decline in the levels of excess winter mortality (the difference between the number of deaths in the quarter from January to March and the quarter from July to September) between 1979 (47,311 deaths) and 1989 (23,853 deaths). In only a very small number of these was hypothermia identified as the underlying cause: 166 in 1989, plus an additional 209 cases where it was a contributory factor.
While there is clearly a correlation between excess mortality and winter weather, the exact causes of increased deaths in winter are extremely complex. Factors include diet, alcohol intake, smoking, clothing (especially dressing appropriately when going out of doors in cold weather) and exercise, as well as adequate warmth in the home. The need for further research in this area is being investigated by the Medical Research Council.
The improved figures in recent years are no doubt due in part to the progress we have been able to achieve through the collaborative efforts of Government, the statutory services and the voluntary sector, in the provision of community health and personal social services, as well as to the more general improvements in housing, social security benefits and overall standards of living.