Ten years ago, councils were trying to stop areas such as Hove from being overrun with rest and nursing homes.

Now councillors are trying to prevent them from closing as owners see more money in selling them as private housing rather than keeping them open.

The main income for many homes comes from those same councils who increasingly place old people in the independent sector rather than looking after them in their own homes.

But councils are unable to raise fees to the homes to a level they find acceptable because their budgets are under such enormous pressure.

The Government, in setting limits for these budgets, does not seem to have paid full attention to the big demands made by large numbers of old people on these services.

This has a knock-on effect because beds become blocked in hospitals as the number of homes dwindles.

It's up to Westminster to solve this problem before a little local difficulty escalates into a full-blown care crisis.