Icy blast raises risk of death in elderly, health chiefs warn, as Age UK slates winter benefit cut

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A looming cold snap could increase the risk of elderly people dying, health chiefs are warning, as Age UK criticised the government’s limiting of winter fuel payments.

The UK Health Security Agency has issued cold-weather health alerts for all of England ahead of a week of low temperatures.

Amber alerts mean a rise in deaths – particularly among people 65 and over or those with health conditions – is likely. The agency has issued such alerts to run from Thursday until next Wednesday, 8 January.

Temperatures could fall as low as minus 8C on Thursday night in rural southern Scotland and northern England, the Met Office said. It will also be cold in rural Wales and southwest England, with minus 6C expected.

Even the southeast and London are also forecast to have freezing temperatures, prompting a yellow weather warning.

Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said the government’s decision to limit the winter fuel allowance to only the poorest pensioners would be put “into sharp relief” by the cold snap.

Ms Abrahams said the charity had already been contacted by older people “worrying about what to do when this moment arrived”.

Some pensioners are already facing waits of more than 100 days to secure their winter fuel payment as Labour reforms put a major strain on the Department for Work and Pensions.

From this winter, only people on pension credit or certain other benefits will receive the winter fuel payments, while more than nine million others are set to be stripped of the allowance.

“We urge older people to do everything they can to stay warm, even if that means risking spending more on their heating than they feel they can afford,” the charity director said.

“The energy companies are under an obligation to help if you are struggling and there may be support available from your local council, too.”

Meanwhile, the Met Office has issued fresh weather warnings for ice ahead of a blast of snow over the weekend.

The yellow warning indicates there could be icy surfaces in northern and western Scotland, northwest England and Northern Ireland. It will remain in place from 5pm on Thursday until 10am on Friday morning, and could create difficult travelling conditions, the forecaster warned.

A snow and ice warning is also in place covering parts of northern Scotland between 4pm on Thursday and 10am on Friday.

Scattered wintry showers will be replaced by a longer spell of rain and sleet on Thursday night, particularly across western Scotland and Northern Ireland.

As temperatures dip below freezing, this will lead to a risk of ice on untreated surfaces, the forecaster said.

Another yellow warning, from noon on Saturday until 9am on Monday, covers all regions of England other than the southwest, most of Wales and parts of southern Scotland.

About 5cm of snow is expected widely across the Midlands, Wales and northern England, with as much as 20-30cm over high ground in Wales and the Pennines, the forecaster added.

Strong winds could lead to snow drifts in some areas, and freezing rain as temperatures creep up could add to the risk of ice.

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “At the moment we’ve issued a very large snow warning for Saturday until Monday but it doesn’t mean that everywhere within that warning could see snow.” It was a warning of some effects, he added.

On Thursday, London councils activated an emergency accommodation protocol for people sleeping rough in freezing conditions. The emergency measures, which mean extra beds being made available, have been active for three nights so far this winter.

A major incident declared in Greater Manchester on Wednesday because of flooding has been stood down, leaving emergency services and partners focusing on recovery efforts. There have been no casualties or reports of serious injuries.

In June 2023, the UK Health Security Agency and Met Office jointly launched a system to issue alerts when extreme weather likely to affect people’s health, particularly heatwaves, is predicted.