THE falling number of care home places for the elderly has enabled a Bolton couple to fill a growing market gap for bespoke care at home.

Joanne Howcroft and her husband Barrie set up Bolton Care Services Limited, which specialises in domiciliary care, in September after six months of research and planning.

"We decided to develop our business after we identified a gap in the present services that allowed people to maintain their independence in their own home, which is the essence of domiciliary care," said Joanne.

"We began researching the business in March and then started developing the service documents in line with the national minimum standards regarding training and service standards provided. At the same time we attended courses run by Bolton Business Support Unit, who supported us fully in establishing our business idea."

According to research by market analyst Laing & Buisson, the number of residential care home places for elderly and disabled people fell by 9,600 in the year to April, 2004.

The study, published last month, found that 486,000 places are now available - 89,000 fewer than in 1996.

The Government's Direct Payment Scheme, which came into force in 2000, allows payments to be made to qualifying applicants who can then choose to buy the home care services of their choice - a crucial aspect of the business plan of Joanne and Barrie .

"The government's own figures showed that in September, 2002, there were 15,020 local authority contact hours (the time spent looking after individuals) in Bolton, compared with 10,450 hours in the private sector," said Joanne. " Over the next twelve months, the local authority hours fell by 16 per cent, while the private sector saw an 8 per cent rise."

Joanne, a registered Mental Nurse, gave up a 13 year career in nursing to open the business. Her husband Barrie, a director in the business, has left his 17 year career in the civil service. After registering for the Commission for Social Care Inspection in July 2004, the company was fully registered in September and is now looking to recruit 10-15 home care workers.