DOZENS of councillors in East Lancashire have been accused of ‘double standards’ after failing to pay their council tax on time, the Lancashire Telegraph can reveal.

On 55 occasions in the last five years, individual councillors have been late paying their council tax bill, and a court summons was required in ten of the cases.

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Four of the cases had to be passed to bailiffs before the arrears were paid.

All six borough councils in the area have refused to name any of the councillors involved, while Burnley Council refused to release any information on the issue.

According to data obtained through Freedom of Information laws, Blackburn with Darwen Council has had 34 cases where members who failed to pay on time since 2009.

Two paid their bills, of £1,214 and £738, in nine monthly installments after they received a court summons, while the rest paid up within two months, after being sent a reminder or final notice.

Colin Rigby, a senior Blackburn with Darwen councillor and former borough leader, said: “This is appalling and disgraceful.

“If these councillors cannot pay their council tax on time they should resign.

“It’s double standards of the worst kind. As councillors they should be setting an example. They cannot ask ordinary people to pay their council tax on time and not do it themselves.”

Pendle Council has had eight cases in the same period, all resulting in a court summons being sent to the councillors concerned.

Four of the cases were passed to bailiffs, including one case last year when a councillor was summoned to court after failing to pay £653 on time.

A repayment plan was arranged for the full charge of £1,646, plus £95 costs, but the member then defaulted. The case was eventually settled in February this year after being passed to bailiffs.

Two other cases took about three years to settle.

Hyndburn Council said 13 members had failed to pay on time, but claimed that releasing further information would contravene the Data Protection Act, while Burnley Council claimed the terms of the Freedom of Information Act barred it from releasing any information.

The Lancashire Telegraph has drafted appeals in both cases.

Chorley Council had three cases, with one member still owing £206.

Ribble Valley and Rossendale councils said they had no members with payments that were more than two months overdue, at which point they are legally required to make a declaration to that effect, and to refrain from voting at any council meeting concerning the calculation of the budget requirement.

But neither council provided details of any members who had paid up within two months.

Andy Silvester, campaign manager for the Taxpayers Alliance, called on all the late payers to be named and shamed.

He said: "Taxpayers won't be happy with what looks like double standards.

“Those who have paid their fair share deserve to know which of their councillors aren't doing the same. It’s crucial that councillors pay their council tax on time to deliver essential services, whilst waging war on wasteful spending in order to bring that tax burden down.

“Perhaps councillors haven't paid on time because, as is the case for hard-pressed families, the tax burden is a huge hit on their personal finances?"

Normally with late payments, a final notice is issued three months after an individual first gets into arrears, with a court summons issued three weeks later after two reminders, unless they pay up or make an arrangement to pay up. If they fail to honour that arrangement, the summons then comes out as soon as they default.

If they pay month by month, they get a notice after they miss one payment. If they don’t pay on that, they get a final notice follows by a summons.

Anyone who is taken to court has to pay the full balance of the financial year owed.

Pendle council leader Joe Cooney said: “I think this shows that whoever you are, you have to pay your council tax. Everybody’s financial circumstances are different but we will contiunue to chase anybody until they pay what’s owed.”

Brandon Lewis, minister for Communities and Local Government, recently said in a Parliamentary Answer: “I am aware that, in response to Freedom of Information Act requests, it is common for local authorities to refuse to name individual councillors in council tax arrears, citing ‘data protection’.

“While noting that individual tax affairs are a personal matter, ministers believe that there is a strong public interest in the names of councillors who are barred from voting being accessible to the wider public.

“If an individual councillor is unable to represent their electorate and undertake their duties because of this statutory prohibition, then it is reasonable that this fact is open to legitimate public scrutiny, especially given the legal duty to declare it at a meeting at which they are present, and given that this relates to their public life not their private life.”