Elderly and disabled people in Brighton and Hove face some of the highest costs in the country for help in getting washed, dressed and fed at home.

A national survey revealed Brighton and Hove City Council charged residents up to £21.50 an hour for home care – making it the highest-charging local authority in the UK.

Critics declared it an “unfair deal”, adding that other councils offered the same services for free.

But the local authority defended the cost, adding that no one currently paid the capped maximum charge of £900 a week.

Rob Jarrett, the council’s cabinet member for adult social care and health, said: “We think our charges are fair because everyone is means tested. More than 40% of our clients pay nothing.

“We set a cap on the maximum to avoid escalating charges. Only 60% of local authorities set a maximum fee.

"We have no way of knowing what someone’s total bill may be elsewhere – it could be much higher than here.”

Coun Jarrett, who defended the cost on national radio yesterday (May 16), said about half the council’s clients pay between £25 and £55 per week towards their care costs.

He added: “Despite reductions in Government funding and increasing costs we have made a point of protecting our adult social care budgets this year.

“We work hard to ensure the care we provide gives value for money and meets the needs of the people we look after.”

But Labour city councillor Anne Pissaridou declared the title “a great shame”.

She added: “At a time when residents are being squeezed, the most vulnerable in our city are at the receiving end of an unfair deal.

“These costs could be lowered if the Green administration had stuck to their manifesto pledge and looked at a full restructuring of the top layer of management within the council, but like so many of their promises, they have been broken.”

The national figures, which were released by the Labour party, showed the average charge for an hour of home care increased by 10% between 2009/10 and 2012/13, from £12.29 to £13.61.

What do you think about the charges?