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divdiv class=story-body readability=23 span class=story-date#13; span class=date26 November 2013/span#13;span class=time-textLast updated at /spanspan class=time04:43 ET/span#13; #13;/span#13;#13; #13;#13;#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; p class=introduction id=story_continues_1There was a big rise in the number of winter deaths last year, official figures for England and Wales show./p#13; pAn estimated 31,100 excess winter deaths occurred in 2012/13 - a 29% increase on the previous winter./p#13; pThe a href=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health2/excess-winter-mortality-in-england-and-wales/2012-13--provisional--and-2011-12--final-/stb-ewm-12-13.html#tab-SummaryOffice for National Statistics/a data, which compares deaths in winter months with averages in other seasons, shows most of the deaths involved people over 75./p#13; pCold weather and flu largely explain the trends. /p#13; pAlthough last Winter was milder than average in December, there followed a prolonged period of lower than average temperatures. /p#13; pMarch 2013 was the coldest since 1962 with an average monthly temperature of just 2.6°C. /p#13; pThe number of winter deaths peaked in the first week of January, which coincided with a peak in rates of influenza-like illness over the Christmas weeks. /p#13; pThe death rate remained higher than average for a prolonged period between February and April 2013./p#13; pWhile excess winter deaths are linked to low temperatures, hypothermia is not the main cause./p#13; pExperience shows that the majority of such deaths are due to heart disease, stroke and respiratory illness./p#13; pThe charity Age UK said the figures were shameful and urged the government to lower energy bills so that those who are most vulnerable - the frail and elderly - can keep their homes warm during winter. /p#13; pThe energy regulator a href=/news/business-25101062 title=Energy suppliers attacked by OfgemOfgem has criticised the profit margins/a of the big gas and electricity suppliers. /p#13; pAge UK's director Caroline Abrahams, said: Excess winter deaths are preventable and today's figures are a damning indictment of our failure to address the scandal of cold homes in this country./p#13; pWe strongly believe that the only sustainable solution is investment to increase the energy efficiency of our housing stock so cold homes become a thing of the past. /p#13; /div/divbrbrcentera href=http://www.wizardrss.comPowered By WizardRSS.com/a | a href=http://www.wizardrss.comFull Text RSS Feed/a | a href=http://www.amazon.com/RFID-Blocking-Cards-Identity-Protector/dp/B00CJHZLEWRFID/a | a href=http://www.wpzonbuilder.comAmazon Affiliate/a/center