Three councillors, each paid £10,000 a year, have failed to submit any forms since Christmas and one, Patricia Allen (Lib Dem, Elland) has not put in a timesheet for three years.

Another Lib Dem who has failed to file this year is Peter Wardhaugh (Greetland and Stainland), deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group. The third is BNP councillor turned independent Geoff-rey Wallace (Illingworth and Mixenden).

None was available for comment.

Liberal Democrat group leader Janet Battye (Calder) said: "You will always get individuals who want to do their own thing.

"Perhaps it is time the standards committee picked up the issue and took what action is necessary."

Committee chairman Hilary Barber, the Vicar of Halifax, said he supported people who stood for public office but added: "Councillors should be accountable and able to demonstrate they are giving value when it comes to spending public money."

Mr Barber refused to comment on the seriousness of failing to fill in timesheets.

He is paid £344 a year as a co-opted member of the standards committee and £7,496 as its chairman. He is not required to fill-in a time sheet.
Last summer, the Courier revealed six councillors were behind with their paperwork, with some claiming the forms were too complex.
Councillor Allen was asked to appear before Calderdale Council Standards Comm-ittee to explain – but failed to turn up. She chairs the licensing sub-committee and attended 13 out of a possible 17 town hall meetings between January 1 and the end of July – about one every fortnight.
Andrew Feather (Con, Sowerby Bridge) hasn't put in a form since the end of February and Paul Rogan (Eng Dem, Rastrick) is four months in arrears. They were also unavailable for comment.
The Conservative leader of the council, Ann McAllister, has not submitted a timesheet since the end of January and is currently on extended sick leave.
The sheets were introduced for councillors several years ago in return for a substantial hike in their annual allowance.
They are supposed to show how many hours the 51 members have spent on individual areas of work.