HIGHER PRICES AND HIGHER DEATH RATES

The plight of many old workers is illustrated in these sad statistics. "Organisations for the elderly in Scotland last night suggested that anxiety among older people about the cost of soaring fuel prices may be a key reason behind an extraordinary increase of around 1,000 in the number of winter deaths last year. Official figures released yesterday showed that the seasonal difference in terms of the number of deaths between winter and the periods immediately before and after the winter months was 2,750 more than the previous year." (Times, 1 November) RD