Sussex has one of the highest proportions of pensioners in the UK and dealing with their needs is a big headache for the authorities.

The charity Homeshare has had the bright idea of helping elderly people live in their own homes by finding youngsters who might otherwise be homeless to live with them.

It has worked well so far in Brighton and Hove with support from the city council, which gave it £27,000 during the first two years.

Now Homeshare is among a substantial number of organisations complaining the council is not keeping up the funding.

Scores of organisations are funded each year by the council but inevitably many more are disappointed as demand always outstrips supply.

The council gave Homeshare a good start. It now needs to look at other sources of grants, such as charitable foundations.

It should also be possible to make such a scheme come close to being self-supporting in the future. It could also combine with one of the large housing trusts for administrative support.

Each organisation refused funds from the council can make a compelling case for civic cash.

But they should not place too much reliance on an authority with little spare money as it faces its own financial crisis.