Sex workers are being paid from public funds to talk about their jobs.

They are given £5 each time they return a survey on their work to the town hall.

The questionnaire, paid for by the Home Office, has been sent to brothels and massage parlours across Brighton and Hove and 32 have so far been returned.

Politicians today questioned the morality of making payments to prostitutes.

Tory councillor Carol Theobald said: "I do not think it right people should be paid for returning these forms. Why do they want the information in the first place? We should be looking at ways of discouraging sex workers from going into the industry. Any drunk could fill in a few of the questions and take it to the council offices and get £5."

The survey is being conducted by the Responsible Authorities Partnership and Drug and Alcohol Action Team, a multi-agency partnership, including police, Brighton and Hove City Council and the South Downs NHS Trust.

It asks sex workers how long they have been working, the number of clients they see, and whether or not they have been forced into prostitution.

They are also asked their opinion on whether men who frequently pay for sex should attend classes telling them that it is wrong to visit prostitutes.

Garry Peltzer Dunn, the leader of the city council's Tory group, said: "I know rewards have been offered in the past, such as putting completed questionnaires into a draw with good prizes but this is the first time I have heard of direct payments to individuals who return them. It is a bit surprising. They must be desperate to receive replies."

The Brighton branch of the Terrence Higgins Trust is distributing the questionnaire to people involved in the sex industry and people receiving treatment for drug addiction.

A spokesman for the trust said: "We are in contact with people involved in the sex industry, both male and female, and our involvement is to distribute the questionnaire.

"We give advice and help to sex workers. It is not our role to make a moral judgment as to whether it is right or wrong for them to be involved in the sex industry."

But Brighton sex worker Letiticia said: "I returned it to the town hall and I took my £5 with relish. It is the first time I have got something back for filling in a form.

"There are a lot of questions and it took me some time to fill it in.

"I can't really see the point of the survey as most people they are distributing the survey to are independent people who are in the industry by choice."

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council said sex workers were often vulnerable and exploited.

She added: "The aim of the survey is to find out more about those involved, the extent of their needs. People are being asked to complete a detailed questionnaire and it is standard to compensate people for their time."