THOUSANDS of Bury families are living in fuel poverty, resulting in an estimated 100 extra deaths every year in the borough during winter months.

Figures revealed at last week's full meeting of Bury Council showed that 8,047 households in the area, approximately 10 per cent of all homes, are considered to be in fuel poverty, meaning residents cannot afford to adequately heat them.

Councillors have committed to tackling the problem and say measures have been taken to protect vulnerable and low income families, and to make homes more energy efficient.

In a written response to a question from Cllr Sarah Kerrison, council deputy leader Cllr Rishi Shori said: "I find it incredible in a modern, civilised society that people are still dying of cold.

"It is therefore no surprise that I am committed to helping bring these households out of fuel poverty by doing what we can to improve the quality of housing, cut the cost paid for fuel and increase people’s income. For instance last year as well as giving advice and promoting a range of energy efficiency measures to thousands of households, we arranged for 216 improvements for vulnerable and low income households, bringing investment of £280,000 into the Borough and saving those households £45,000 on annual energy bills.

"Changes have also been made to council-owned properties. The last five years have seen 6,000 energy efficiency measures being implemented for the benefit of tenants – many of whom are on low incomes."

The council is now drafting a new plan to cope with rising energy prices, Cllr Shori added.

He said: "But I know there is still work to be done. Thousands of private properties remain in need of improvement and we can assume that energy costs will rise in the years to come.

"That is why we are in the process of drafting a new Fuel Poverty Action Plan.

"Discussions with stakeholders, such as the event held last week, show that there is a lot of support for reducing the impact of fuel poverty on health and I am convinced that this level of commitment, coupled with our strong partnership approach, will continue to make a difference in the years to come."