Privacy and Council Tax

This privacy notice explains how the Revenues and Benefits team at Buckinghamshire Council (the data controller) will use the personal information we collect about you when you use this service.

We can hold the following information:

• your name and the name of all residents over the age of 18
• contact details, telephone number and email address
• your bank details
• residential status, owner or tenant or landlord or second home or empty

If you make an application for a discount, we may hold the following additional information:

• the name of your doctor and address of the surgery, as well as any medical information supplied
• the type of Department for Works and Pensions benefit you are in receipt of
• your date of birth
• the name and address of the establishment you study at and the type of course and hours of study
• the name and address of the prison and length of sentence and earliest date of release
• the name and address of the care home or hospital
• details of executor, date of probate

We need your information to:

• ensure our database is accurate for the administration and collection of Council Tax in line with current legislation
• consider and correctly award discounts, disregards and exemptions where the criteria have been met
• correctly ascertain the liable party in respect of Council Tax and ensure correct billing
• administer your Council Tax and contact you if required
• organise direct debits, should you opt to pay by this method

We use your information because we need it to provide you with a service as a local authority as part of our public task (Article 6(1)(e)) and legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)) under Council Tax and Benefit legislation including:

• Local Government Finance Act 1992
• The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Detection of Fraud and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2013

If we need to use your special category information or information about criminal convictions, we can use it because:

• we need it to carry out our duties under the law
• we need it to prevent or detect a crime, unlawful behaviour or fraud

We will share your information, if appropriate, with:

• HM Revenues and Customs and Department for Work and Pensions
• a nominated third party or personal representative, following authority from you to do so
• any of the parties listed on receipt of a copy of a Financial Power of Attorney
• other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds and in relation to safeguarding purposes or in connection with the prevention of crime, criminal or legal investigations or proceedings including fraud (and the National Fraud Initiative) or regulatory functions
• other external companies in relation to the collection of unpaid Council Tax
• other relevant services within the council including for verification, investigations and/or enforcement purposes where appropriate and where there is a legal basis to do so
• Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the ongoing monthly supply of property level Council Tax data for its use regarding its statutory functions in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (Section 45A of this act permits any public authority to disclose to the ONS any information they hold in connection with their functions). Details of the information we will share and how it will be used can be viewed on the ONS website.

We will securely hold your information and only keep it for as long as is necessary. At the end of this period your records will be confidentially disposed of.

We do not carry out any automated decision making in relation to this information.

You have legal rights over your information. For details of those rights, see our corporate Privacy Policy.

Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted at Buckinghamshire Council, The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, HP19 8FF, or by email at [email protected].