Council Tax and Business Rates privacy notice
The following privacy notice is designed to explain how we collect, process hold and share your personal data for the purposes of Council Tax administration, collection and enforcement.
The categories of this information that we collect, process, hold and share include:
- personal information (such as name, addresses for you and names of certain persons in your household, dates of occupation, dates of vacation);
- personal circumstances (such as relationships with others in the household, disabilities, certain medical details, whether you or any members of your household are a carer or being cared for, whether you or any members of your household are students, or persons from abroad)
- financial information (in certain cases it will be necessary to obtain financial details to establish whether you are entitled to any exemption, discount or reduction)
- housing details (such as the type of accommodation you live in, whether any changes have been made to the premises, whether it is furnished or unfurnished and whether changes have been made to meet any disability); and
- contact details (such as telephone numbers, email addresses to be able to contact you in relation to your account).
Why we collect and use this information
We use your data and that of the people who live with you to:
- assess your liability to pay Council Tax;
- assess any potential entitlement to an exemption, discount, disregard or reduction;
- to collect and where necessary recover Council Tax in line with the legislation;
- prevent fraud and abuse of public funds;
- prevent Council Tax avoidance and Council Tax evasion;
- enable us to carry out all of our legal duties in relation to Council Tax administration, collection and recovery;
- derive statistics to inform both local and central government on Council Tax;
- enable us to carry out specific functions for which we are responsible including ensuring that you receive other council services to which you are entitled; and
- assess performance and to set targets for the Council
Your personal information will be treated as confidential but it may be shared with other Council services in order to ensure our records are accurate and up-to-date, and to improve the standard of the services we deliver. We will only use your information in ways which are permitted by the General Data Protection Regulation and the current UK Data Protection law.
This Council has a duty to protect the public funds it administers, and may use information held about you for all lawful purposes, including but not limited to the prevention and detection of crime including fraud and money laundering and the matching of Council Tax data with other internal and external Government departments including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs.
The Council may also use your information for the purpose of performing any of its statutory enforcement duties. It will make any disclosures required by law and may also share your information with other bodies responsible for detecting/preventing crime including fraud or auditing/administering public funds.
The lawful basis on which we use this information
We collect and use this information under:
- The Local Government Finance Act 1992 and subsequent primary legislation;
- The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 and subsequent secondary legislation;
- The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended);
- Where there is a public interest to do so; and
- To prevent Council Tax avoidance and evasion.
Collecting this information
The majority of information you provide to us is mandatory and essential to carry out the Council’s legal duties. If we require additional information on a voluntary basis, we will inform you whether you are required to provide certain information to us or if you have a choice in this.
Storing this information
Your data will be securely held electronically and will not be stored in a country outside the UK. All paper records containing your personal information will be held securely in our filing systems.
We make sure we do not keep your details for any longer than is necessary and when we no longer have a need to keep your details, we will delete or destroy your details securely. For further information on our policy for retaining personal information, please see our data retention guidelines.
Who we share this information with
Routine sharing of information
We routinely share the information provided with:
- Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs;
- Other local authorities to ensure correct assessment of Council Tax liability, prevention of fraud or the recovery of amounts outstanding;
- The Council’s printing and mailing contractors to enable demands and notifications to be produced and mailed to taxpayers (please note that all contractors are approved by the Council and fully meet all Data Protection requirements).
- Synectics Solutions Ltd to provide a data matching service for Single Person Discount reviews - https://www.synectics-solutions.com/privacy-policy
- Enforcement Agencies for the collection of tax and other monies owing to the council
- Solicitors, Insolvency Practitioners and Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service
- Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the production of anonymised statistics including the census, further details can be found on the ONS Privacy page
This is required for the day to day administration of Council Tax as well as the protection of public funds, Council Tax avoidance and evasion, fraud detection and prevention. The Council must provide the information to the above organisations if requested to do so.
Specific sharing of information
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction
We hold information about household composition, personal circumstances of individuals within your household as well as income and capital details. This is essential to process Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction (which is essentially a Council Tax discount). We will share information on a case by case basis to:
- Ensure details given are consistent with Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction records enabling the correct assessment of the Housing Benefit under the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and subsequent primary legislation, the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for State Pension Credit) Regulations 2006 (as amended) For Council Tax Reduction under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended) and the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended);
- Enable recovery of outstanding Housing Benefit overpayments where necessary under the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for State Pension Credit) Regulations 2006 (as amended); and
- Prevent fraud and error under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended), the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, and the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Detection of Fraud and Enforcement) Regulations 2013.
Other Council Departments
Where other departments of the Council have a legal right to data we hold, information shall be provided which is relevant to their legal powers.
Department for Work and Pensions
Where Council Tax remains unpaid and is due to be recovered, the Council will, where appropriate, share relevant data with the Department for Work and Pensions to enable recovery of the debt from benefits in accordance with the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement Regulations 1992 (as amended).
Recovery of outstanding debts
Where there is outstanding Council Tax, the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement Regulations 1992 (as amended) allow the Council to take recovery action by:
- Taking action through the Magistrates Court to obtain liability orders;
- Requesting employers to make deductions from wages;
- Instructing enforcement agents;
- Apply to the County Court for Charging Orders or to commence insolvency action; and
- Taking committal action through the Magistrates Court as a last resort.
Where the legislation allows, and on a case by case basis, information will be passed to these third parties. The information shall be limited to the data necessary to recover any outstanding amounts only.
National Fraud Initiative
The Council is required under Part 6 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 to participate in the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data matching exercise that matches electronic data within and between public and private sector bodies to prevent and detect fraud. Council Tax data will be provided to the Cabinet Office for NFI and will be used for cross-system and cross-authority comparison with other relevant organisations’ data for the prevention and detection of fraud. It does not require the consent of the individuals.
Data matching by the Cabinet Office is subject to a Code of Practice.
Office of National Statistics
The Council is required to provide monthly property level council tax data to the Office for National Statistics for its use regarding its statutory functions in accordance with, and laid out in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. Section 45A of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (as inserted by section 79 of the Digital Economy Act 2017) permits any public authority to disclose to the Statistics Board any information they hold in connection with their functions.
View further details on the information local council’s have to submit to central government here
Why we share this information
This data sharing underpins the administration, collection and enforcement of Council Tax.
We do not share information without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.
We will not disclose your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.
Requesting access to your personal data
Under data protection legislation, all persons have the right to request access to information about them that we hold. To make a request for your personal information, contact the Data Protection Officer, Wyre Forest District Council, Wyre Forest House, Fine Point Way, Kidderminster, Worcestershire DY11 7WF. Email dataprotection@wyreforestdc.gov.uk
You also have the right to:
- object to processing of personal data that is likely to cause, or is causing, damage or distress
- prevent processing for the purpose of direct marketing
- object to decisions being taken by automated means
- in certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed; and
- claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the Data Protection regulations
If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, we request that you raise your concern with us in the first instance. Alternatively, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/
Further information
For enquiries about this privacy notice and for deletion of data held under consent please email customer services
The following privacy notice has been issued by Wyre Forest District Council and is designed to explain how we collect, process hold and share your personal data for the purposes of Non Domestic Rating administration, collection and enforcement.
It should be noted that regulations in relation to personal data do not extend to Limited Companies (ltd), Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) or Public Limited Companies (PLCs).
The Council is fully compliant with all UK and EU Data Protection requirements including the General Data Protection Regulations effective from 25th May 2018.
The categories of this information that we collect, process, hold and share include:
- personal information (such as name, addresses for you and your business, names of other occupiers or owners, dates of occupation, dates of vacation);
- property details (such as ownership, the type of premises, the type of business, whether the premises is occupied or not, what equipment, plant or machinery is on the premises, how many premises you occupy or own);
- financial information (in certain cases it will be necessary to obtain financial details to establish whether you or your business are entitled to any relief or reduction); and
- contact details (such as telephone numbers, email addresses to be able to contact you in relation to your account).
Why we collect and use this information
We use your data and that of the people who live with you to:
- assess your liability to pay Non Domestic Rating;assess any potential entitlement to an exemption, mandatory relief, discretionary relief or reduction;
- to collect and where necessary, recover Non Domestic Rates in line with the legislation;
- prevent fraud and abuse of public funds;
- prevent Non Domestic Rates avoidance and Non Domestic Rates evasion;
- enable us to carry out all of our legal duties in relation to Non Domestic Rates administration, collection and recovery;
- derive statistics to inform both local and central government on Non Domestic Rates;
- enable us to carry out specific functions for which we are responsible including ensuring that you receive other council services to which you are entitled; and
- assess performance and to set targets for the Council.
Your personal information will be treated as confidential but it may be shared with other Council services in order to ensure our records are accurate and up-to-date, and to improve the standard of the services we deliver. We will only use your information in ways which are permitted by the General Data Protection Regulation and the current UK Data Protection law.
This Council has a duty to protect the public funds it administers, and may use information held about you for all lawful purposes, including, but not limited to the prevention and detection of crime including fraud and money laundering and the matching of Non Domestic Rates data with other internal and external Government departments including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs.
The Council may also use your information for the purpose of performing any of its statutory enforcement duties. It will make any disclosures required by law and may also share your information with other bodies responsible for detecting/preventing crime including fraud or auditing/administering public funds.
The lawful basis on which we use this information
We collect and use this information under:
- The Local Government Finance Act 1988 and subsequent primary legislation;
- The Non Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Local Lists) Regulations 1989 and relevant subsequent secondary legislation;
- The Non Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Central Lists) Regulations 1989 and relevant subsequent secondary legislation;
- Where there is a public interest to do so;
- To prevent Non Domestic Rates avoidance and evasion;
- To prevent and detect fraud and corruption in line with the Council’s Counter Fraud policy.
Collecting this information
The majority of information you provide to us is mandatory and essential to carry out the Council’s legal duties. If we require additional information on a voluntary basis, we will inform you whether you are required to provide certain information to us or if you have a choice in this.
Storing this information
Your data will be securely held electronically and will not be stored in a country outside the UK. All paper records containing your personal information will be held securely in our filing systems.
We make sure we do not keep your details for any longer than is necessary and when we no longer have a need to keep your details, we will delete or destroy your details securely. For further information on our policy for retaining personal information, please see our data retention guidelines.
Who we share this information with
Routine sharing of information
We routinely share the information provided with:
- Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs;
- Other local authorities to ensure correct assessment of Council Tax liability, prevention of fraud or the recovery of amounts outstanding;
- The Council’s printing and mailing contractors to enable demands and notifications to be produced and mailed to taxpayers (please note that all contractors are approved by the Council and fully meet all Data Protection requirements).
- Enforcement Agencies for the collection of tax and other monies owing to the council
- Solicitors, Insolvency Practitioners and Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service
This is required for the day to day administration of Non Domestic Rates as well as the protection of public funds, Council Tax avoidance and evasion, fraud detection and prevention. The Council must provide the information to the above organisations if requested to do so.
Specific sharing of information
Council Tax
We will share information with Council Tax administration on a case by case basis to:
- Ensure details given are consistent with the assessment of Council Tax and Non Domestic Rates liability under the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and 1992 (as amended) and to protect Council funds;
- Enable recovery of outstanding Council Tax and Non Domestic Rates debts where necessary; and
- Prevent fraud and error under the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (as amended), the Non Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Local Lists) Regulations 1989 and subsequent legislation.
Other council departments
Where other departments of the Council have a legal right to data we hold, information shall be provided which is relevant to their legal powers.
Recovery of outstanding debts
Where there is outstanding Non Domestic Rates, the Non Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Local Lists) Regulations 1989 (as amended) allow the Council to take recovery action by:
- Taking action through the Magistrates Court to obtain liability orders;
- Taking action through the County Court for outstanding amounts
- Instructing enforcement agents;
- Apply to the County Court for Charging Orders (where a County Court Judgment has been obtained) or to commence insolvency action;
- Taking committal action through the Magistrates Court as a last resort.
Where the legislation allows, and on a case by case basis, information will be passed to these third parties. The information shall be limited to the data necessary to recover any outstanding amounts only.
National Fraud Initiative
The Council is required under Part 6 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 to participate in the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data matching exercise that matches electronic data within and between public and private sector bodies to prevent and detect fraud. Council Tax data will be provided to the Cabinet Office for NFI and will be used for cross-system and cross-authority comparison with other relevant organisations’ data for the prevention and detection of fraud. It does not require the consent of the individuals.
Data matching by the Cabinet Office is subject to a Code of Practice.
Why we share this information
This data sharing underpins the administration, collection and enforcement of Non Domestic Rates.
We do not share information without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.
We will not disclose your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.
Requesting access to your personal data
Under data protection legislation, all persons have the right to request access to information about them that we hold. To make a request for your personal information, contact the Data Protection Officer, Wyre Forest District Council, Wyre Forest House, Fine Point Way, Kidderminster, Worcestershire DY11 7WF. Email dataprotection@wyreforestdc.gov.uk
You also have the right to:
- object to processing of personal data that is likely to cause, or is causing, damage or distress
- prevent processing for the purpose of direct marketing
- object to decisions being taken by automated means
- in certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed; and
- claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the Data Protection regulations
If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, we request that you raise your concern with us in the first instance. Alternatively, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/
Further information
For enquiries about this privacy notice and for deletion of data held under consent please email the Data Protection Officer.