Over the last five years a net total of 50,000 care home places in all sectors across the UK have been lost due to care home closures.

In the last year alone 750 care homes have closed, according to Help the Aged.

The news comes a day after Rose Cottle, a 102-year-old woman from Hertdorshire, asked the prime minister to intervene to prevent her being evicted from a residential care home for the second time in three years.

Forum Response: Unison

A spokesperson for Unison told ePolitix.com: "We believe that Rose Cottle's case is not unique. Thousands of elderly residents could face eviction as companies sell off care homes to make a profit.

"With 86 per cent of elderly care homes now owned by the private sector, residents will have nowhere to go. And with reports that 50 per cent of the homes in the south and south east are threatened with closure, the future looks increasingly bleak.

"This is just one more example of how the private sector cannot be trusted to run our public services. As soon as their profit margins get squeezed, they want to cut and run, leaving people like Rose to suffer the consequences."

Forum Response: Help the Aged

Annie Stevenson, care policy manager at Help the Aged, told ePolitix.com: "The lack of core funding is driving many good care homes to the wall, leaving older people in crisis. Research by Help the Aged shows older people receive up to 50 per cent less funding for residential or nursing care than a younger adult with a learning disability.

"This is direct age discrimination. The government must take urgent action to establish a fair rate for care so older people are guaranteed high quality residential and nursing care and that good care homes can stay open."

Forum Response: Counsel and Care

Les Bright, deputy chief executive of Counsel and Care, told ePolitix.com: "Some analysts and politicians may see closures as part of a realignment necessary to shape the market to their view of need. But every home closure means that older people and often their elderly relatives experience unnecessary distress at a time when they are less capable of withstanding major upheaval in their lives."