Is Rothercare homecapital ofEngland?

10/03/14 - Raising the flag over Bexhill Town Hall: (From left) Tony Leonard, Rother District Council executive director of business operations, Frances Winterborn, mayor of Bexhill, Cllr Ian Jenkins, district council chairman and Cllr Jimmy Carroll, district council member for Bexhill Sidley. SUS-141103-132114001

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) census found 1,500 Rother residents lived in care homes in 2011 - a total of 1.7 percent of the population.

The two local authorities with the next highest proportion of residents in care homes were also both in Sussex - Worthing, close behind Rother, on 1.6 percent and Arun with 1.5 percent.

Other areas identified, in the census, as having high proportions of people living in care homes were Hastings, Eastbourne, Torbay, Shepway and Teignbridge.

Nearly 300,000 people aged 65 and over lived in care homes in 2011.

Other findings by the ONS revealed that the gender gap of care home residents aged 65 and over had narrowed since 2001.

The census found that the population of care homes was increasing in age with the proportion of residents aged 85 and over going up from 56 percent in 2001 to 59 percent in 2011.

Cash-strappedEast Sussex County Council has said that caring for elderly people in the county is one of its biggest expenses.