The relatives of people living in the council-run care homes which are scheduled for closure have every right to be concerned about what the future holds. Many of the residents of these homes are highly vulnerable people, some suffering from Alzheimers and other forms of dementia. They need 24-hour supervision.

It is understandable that their families are worried that the proposed switch to care in the community could prove inadequate to meet their needs. The idea of community care, when it was first put forward as an alternative to residential care two decades ago, was promoted as a way of allowing older people to remain in their own homes with adequate support.

Unfortunately, over the years that support has sometimes proved to be insufficient because of under-funding. Older people have been let down by it and often their families and friends have had to shoulder much of the responsibility of care. It is small wonder, then, that some people fear this planned new switch from residential to community care could have the same result.

Some older people might indeed prefer to live in their own homes in a small, well-supervised community with support never far away. Others, though, are totally unsuited to this sort of alternative to the residential care they currently receive.

If the Council intends to press ahead with the closure of these homes, it must ensure that every displaced resident is provided with a care package which fully meets his or her needs. If the money to do that cannot be guaranteed, the scheme should not go ahead.