The Independent Age charity has revealed that in a third of local authority areas the quality of care homes is worsening, with 40% now reviewing badly in Portsmouth and Manchester.

The figures are based on the inspection reports of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which rates homes on their achievement of relevant aspects from “inadequate” to “outstanding”. The decline is said to be caused by increased demand as people live longer, staff shortages and cuts in local authority budgets.