We are Dudley Council, and your privacy is important to us. We aim for full transparency on how we gather, use and share your personal information, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). This Privacy Notice covers: -
- Housing Benefit - Discretionary Housing Payments - Council Tax Reduction - Discretionary Council Tax Relief - Local Welfare Provision such as Household Support Fund awards
Dudley Council is the Controller for the information held about you for these purposes. Our contact details are:- Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Council House Dudley West Midlands DY1 1HF
As a Public Authority we do not have a representative in any other member states of the EU.
We collect a variety of information in order to administer Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Discretionary Payments and Local Welfare provision. Dudley 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
- The matching of Housing Benefit data with internal and external government departments including, but not limited to, Department of Work and Pensions and HMRC
- The matching of Council Tax and Business Rates data with other internal and external government departments
- Live data we hold may also be used for testing new systems, system upgrades, and new schemes or procedures, subject to the same protections outlined in this agreement.
We may use your information to proactively award additional funds that are part of government initiatives.
Dudley Council will share data with other bodies where there is a legal basis to do so. We will not disclose your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. No data collected is transferred overseas.
We collect the following contact details: -
- Contact details for the customer, and third parties on any claim, including name, address, telephone number and email address.
The table below shows how we use this data, and for what purpose: -
Reason for request
Purpose
Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction Claims
• Determining the correct amount of Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction payable.
• Ensuring that Housing Benefit is paid to the correct person
• Ensuring that Council Tax Reduction awarded is paid promptly towards the customer’s Council Tax bill
Contact with customers will result in the issue of accurate Housing Benefit payments, and Council Tax Reduction awards, and the prompt issue of accurate Council Tax bills.
Discretionary Payments (Discretionary Housing Payments and Discretionary Council Tax Relief awards)
• Determining the correct amount of Discretionary Payment to be awarded, including the correct entitlement to a rent deposit, or removal costs etc, or Council Tax Relief Award.
Contact with customers will result in assisting in reduction of financial hardship.
Local Welfare Provision
• Determining the correct amount of award in relation to the relevant government scheme.
Contact with customers will result in assisting in reduction of financial hardship.
In addition, customers may be contacted for the enforcement of Council Tax where statutory instalments are not paid in accordance with those billed.
We will keep your information for as long as it is required by us or other regulatory bodies to comply with legal and regulatory requirements or other operational reasons. In most cases, we will delete information that is older than 6 years, plus the current year, after an account is closed and where no outstanding amounts are payable. Internal policies are in place to manage the retention and safe disposal of information.
Under Data Protection Law, Dudley Council does not need your consent to process certain personal data relating to you. This is because we have a legal obligation to do so, this meets the requirement of Article 6(1)(c) of the UK GDPR. This is usually where there is a law or instruction from Government. The Council may need to process more data in order to fulfil its public tasks, but you should be informed what this is and why we are doing it, this meets the requirements of Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR.The legislation to enable us to do so is as follows: -
Housing Benefit
Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2001
Discretionary Payments
2001 No 1167 – Social Security The Discretionary Financial Assistance Regulations 2001 Local Government Finance Act 1992 (Section 13a)
Council Tax Reduction
Local Government Finance Act 1992 The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012 Dudley MBC Council Tax Reduction Scheme *The above schemes may be amended to reflect changes made in the above legislation, and relevant changes made to the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 that are in force
Internal (Dudley Council) – We will share data with any Service Area within Dudley Council where there is a justifiable legal reason to do so.
Your email address/telephone number will be used to provide you with updates and information relevant to the services you receive from Dudley Council. We may also use it to contact you about other Council services or initiatives that may be of interest to you, but only where we have a lawful basis to do so. You can update your preferences or opt out at any time by contacting us directly or by updating your MyDudley account settings. We will not share your email address with third parties for marketing purposes without your explicit consent.
External – Data is shared with the following external service areas and a legal basis has been established in order to do this:-
NEC
For the purpose of providing, administering and maintaining Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction and Discretionary Payment IT systems as part of a contractual agreement
APS Group
The production and dispatch of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction and/or Discretionary Payment notifications letters to customers and landlords. Invoices for Housing Benefit Overpayments
GovTech Solutions Ltd
Production of technology to enable information provided on an application form to be loaded into our IT systems for accurate assessment by Benefit Services
Ascendant Ltd
For the purpose of providing and administering the Household Support Fund and any other government initiatives
Landlords
Where Housing Benefit is paid direct to a landlord, legally they have to be notified who the payment is for, the amount and the period it covers. Where a deposit is paid on behalf of a customer for a Discretionary Housing Payment, the Landlord is notified who the payment is in respect of, and the amount.
Department of Work and Pensions (DWP)
For the purpose of data matching, enforcement activity to collect amounts of outstanding Housing Benefit Overpayments. Statistical purposes
Enforcement Agents
For the purposes of carrying out enforcement activity to collect amounts of outstanding Housing Benefit Overpayment, as part of a contractual agreement.
Grant Thornton (Auditors)
For the validation of the Annual Subsidy Claim.
Employers
For the purpose of carrying out enforcement activity to collect amounts of outstanding Housing Benefit Overpayment, in accordance with The Welfare Reform Act 2012, and Social Security Regulations 2013
HM Courts and Tribunal Service
For the purpose of an independent tribunal to be heard when the customer appeals a Housing Benefit decision when the Council is satisfied the decision is correct, in accordance with The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2001.
The Valuation Tribunal
For the purpose of an independent tribunal to be heard when the customer appeals a Council Tax Reduction or a Discretionary Council Tax Relief decision, when the Council is satisfied the decision is correct
Your Rights
You are entitled to know what personal data Dudley Council is processing about you. If you wish to obtain the data we hold, or if you want to exercise any of your other rights about the processing of the data, you can contact the Data Protection Officer at
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Council House Dudley West Midlands DY1 1HF
- Have your personal data corrected if it is inaccurate or incomplete - Ask for your personal data, used for this purpose, to be erased. This right may be limited where it is still necessary for the compliance with our legal obligation
You can also ask for the processing of your personal data to be restricted if: -
- It is inaccurate - It is unlawful but you do not want it to be deleted - It is due to be deleted but you require it kept because of a legal claim - You have objected to the processing of the data and you are waiting for a decision about the objection
For more information about your rights, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office, which is the supervisory authority for the United Kingdom. Contact details are:
- www.ico.org.uk - Email: casework@ico.org.uk - Tel: 0303 123 1113 - Write to: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
