Families living in 680,000*  poorly insulated homes in our 3 constituencies are paying £63,000,000 more in heating bills than they should be.

Research by the Liberal Democrats gives an indication of the enormous extra costs of the failure to adequately insulate our homes.

About 65% of dwellings in England have a valid EPC (energy performance certificate). Gov.uk data tables show how many dwellings in our 3 districts (East Staffs, Lichfield and Tamworth) have an EPC of D or worse, the government's target being that all homes should be Band C or better by 2035. Across out patch there are about 680,00 such dwellings.Were all homes in the bands D to G to be improved to band C it is estimated that the average saving to the residents would be about £930 per year. (Obviously substantially more than this for the less energy efficient homes, where the extra cost could be £2000 per year or more). So £930 each from these 680 thousand dwellings comes to £63 million of extra financial burden..

Nationally, 13 million homes across the UK have poor energy efficiency so the total cost due to the lack of insulation is an eye-watering £13 billion. In some areas over four in five families are living in leaky homes. This is sadly topical this week in the light of the Rochdale coroner's decision on the case of toddler Awaab Ishak whose death was caused by fungal infection from the mould in his home. Cold leads to damp which leads to mould.

*It's actually around 40 % higher than this because the data only captures the properties for which there is a valid EPC. As houses without an EPC may be older and occupied by older residents the costs to tenants and owners might be proportionately even higher and more serious .