I am sure statistics exist somewhere in the depths of the town hall filing system which can tell us how many care beds for the elderly have been lost locally over the past year.

Nationally, it is put at the frightening figure of 13,000 and rising at a time when the population is ageing and living longer.

It is a mathematical problem which does not add up to any sensible solution.

It has also been compounded by a whole lot of rules and regulations which the Government brought in under the Care Standards Act.

The minutiae of door widths, carpets, personal space, private bathrooms and the like has made it well nigh impossible for many care home owners to carry on.

These expenses, added to the miserly behaviour of some councils in forcing down the payments to such homes for those whose fees they pay, have sounded the death knell for some 600 homes a year.

When you look at some of the care homes in Brighton and Hove you can see that many of them have been large family houses, no longer needed as such but ideal for people to use for the elderly, many of whom just need some sort of supervision.

They are houses which have been adapted to the needs of the older generation, in many cases not elaborately but comfortably and may well have a few inches missing from the odd doorway.

Apart from any other consideration, they date from an earlier age when we were in charge of our weights and measures and did not have to dance to the tune of the EU and measure everything in metres and centimetres so it is inevitable that they may be slightly off beat.

The fact that they have operated perfectly satisfactorily for many years does not appear to enter into the equation.

Now, however, the owners of these adequate shelters are facing such heavy costs they cannot cope and are admitting defeat at the hands of a seemingly uncaring government.

Those who are still struggling on are being forced to put up their fees by 20 per cent to fund the demands from the Act and many have already given up the battle.

The fees are creeping up and are likely to reach a staggering £20,000 a year in residential homes, which will put them beyond the reach of many of the group whom they are meant to serve.

We are talking about a generation who fought the Second World War, worked for low wages and had little chance to get much capital behind them.

They worked hard to buy their own houses and hoped that when they died there would be something for their children.

They would do better if they had not worked hard and tried to be self reliant.

One of the saddest things about this situation is that many old folk are having to move from familiar surroundings and are not surviving the upheaval. One elderly lady is actually reported as having starved herself to death when she was moved following the closure of her home.

Is it too much to hope that in Brighton and Hove, the much-vaunted Place To Be, some serious thought may be given to the plight of the elderly and infirm, whose only crime has been to live too long?

The city has a large number of care homes and more than its fair share of older people, many of whom are active and happy in what they are doing.

But for those who are not so lucky, is it too much to hope that they will not be treated like objects to be moved at will, someone else's will, not theirs?

For those of us already in the Third Age, it is a matter of considerable concern.