MORE than 700,000 people in England and Wales are living in homes without central heating.
Official data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), based on the 2021 census, shows that 699,500 people live in a home that doesn’t use gas or electricity to heat it in England.
There are a further 15,496 homes in Wales without central heating.
London has the largest number of households without central heating at 76,190, followed by the rest of the south-east at 49,875.
In Wokingham, 489 of the borough’s 69,200 households have no central heating.
In neighbouring Reading, there are 1,434 homes with no central heating, more than 2% of its 67,700 total.
Bracknell Forest has 454 households with no central heating and in West Berkshire there are 695.
Charities have warned that cold homes could cause nearly 10,000 excess deaths this winter as many living without central heating are aged 65 and over, with long-term health conditions.
Holly Holder, the deputy director for homes at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “The number of homes without central heating in England is truly shocking. We have among the worst and least efficient homes in western Europe and often it is older people who have to reside in these subpar properties.
“The life and death implications of this are really being seen now as we enter the bracing cold of mid-winter at the height of a cost of living crisis.”
A government spokesperson, when approached for comment by the Guardian, described the lack of central heating in homes as “completely unacceptable” and said it is acting to ensure people stay warm this winter.
This includes support with energy bills, introducing the Decent Homes Standard to privately rented homes and increasing Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) to £200 for those who use heating oil and fuels other than gas.
