A shocking front page article in Tuesday’s Argus predicted that more than 100,000 homes in Sussex will fall into fuel poverty this winter.

It also warned that death rates in Sussex could rise as older people in particular find it hard to afford to heat their homes.

People over 65 are especially vulnerable, and the number of older people who do not survive the winter in the UK is far higher than in most European countries, including those where the weather is far colder.

If that were not serious enough, next year will be the first time in three decades that there has been no Treasury-funded scheme to provide insulation and other energy efficiency measures for those struggling to keep warm.

This is scandalous, and makes it almost impossible to believe that the Coalition will meet its target to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016.

In response to this, I’ve signed Age UK’s Spread the Warmth Winter Pledge (http://bit.ly/tFEaA0), supporting the campaign to make winter warmer for 360,000 people.

And in Parliament, I’ll continue to challenge the Government’s lack of action on fuel poverty, mindful that this issue affects over 5,000 households in Brighton Pavilion alone.