THE taxpayer was billed nearly £1,500 by a councillor to look after her child during her online council meetings. Husband and wife councillors, the Big Lemon CEO Tom Druitt and former mayor Alex Phillips are Green representatives on Brighton and Hove City Council. Cllr Phillips expenses claim came under the dependant carer s allowance , which aims to stop women from struggling financially due to childcare costs and having to stand down as councillors. Newly published expenses reveal Cllr Phillips claimed a total of £1,458 for childcare for the financial year ending April 2021. The bill was almost five times the total of all other councillors expenses combined, not including the subsidised parking and bus passes. It covered a time when all city council meetings were being held virtually due to the pandemic.