CHORLEY MP Lindsay Hoyle has spoken out in the House of Commons over plans by Lancashire County Council to shut two care homes for the elderly in the borough.

Mr Hoyle took part in a debate raised by a group of cross-party Lancashire MPs united in their opposition to the plans to close 35 homes across the county - including Healey View and Coniston House in Chorley.

Mr Hoyle said: "Care homes in Chorley and Lancashire provide an essential service and the county council's proposal to close 35 of the 48 homes in Lancashire would be detrimental to care for the elderly."

After the debate Mr Hoyle said: "We're talking about some of the most vulnerable people in society and wrong decisions have been taken. They have to withdraw their proposals.

"There's been no study by the county council into old people's homes in Chorley which are at eighty five per cent occupancy.

"These plans aren't government policy"

Meanwhile private care home bosses have claimed Lancashire County Council has signed a death warrant for hundreds of private homes by announcing plans to cut the number of pensioners going into care.

The county council wants to reduce the number of OAPs it pays for in private homes by half by 2007.

A letter sent to care home owners by Lancashire County Council's councillor in charge of social services, Chris Cheetham, revealed the plans, and ordered home owners to 'decide whether you can justify spending money to upgrade or whether you are going to exit from the residential homes market.'