The West Midlands Inclusive Growth Framework lays out our vision for delivering inclusive growth across the region. Ensuring that our residents live and work in healthy environments is vital to achieving this vision. Decent homes which are affordable, safe and fit for purpose have a huge impact on an individual's ability to thrive and access opportunities where they live. The Homes for the Future Strategy takes critical steps towards our ambition for inclusive growth, with the potential of delivering a number of significant benefits.
Over half of all neighbourhoods in the West Midlands are in the bottom 20% when it comes to fuel poverty, nearly three times the national average. An estimated 235,512 homes are classed as being fuel poor homes. At 17.5% of all homes, this is the highest rate of fuel poverty in any English region, with some local areas experiencing much higher rates of over 40%. The Homes for the Future Strategy will help to alleviate this problem by reducing costs for occupiers, building a better physical fabric for new homes with higher insulation standards and reduced energy costs.
Well-designed and well-built homes also have an impact on our health and well-being. Since the publication of the Marmot Review in 2010, life expectancy in England has stalled and health inequalities have continued to widen. Across the region, both life and healthy life expectancy remain lower the national average. This has been both exposed and exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, with our ethnic minority communities among those most affected.
Cold homes can affect or exacerbate a range of health problems including respiratory and circulatory problems and increase the risk of poor mental health. It is estimated that 10% of excess winter deaths are directly attributable to fuel poverty, and a fifth of excess winter deaths are attributable to the coldest quarter of homes. Cold homes can also affect wider issues, such as educational performance among children and young people, as well as work absences.
Homes for the Future means that the region will be able to deliver more sustainable, warmer, more energy efficient, climate resilient homes that will be healthier, happier properties for residents to occupy from the outset, reducing the need for later improvements.