Data Protection Privacy Notice

Service: Revenues and Benefits

Processing Activity: Council Tax

The Data Controller, Mid Devon District Council, Phoenix House, Phoenix Lane, Tiverton, EX16 6PP.

Tel: 01884 255255

Mid Devon District Council (MDDC) is registered as a data controller with the Information Commission (registration number Z5826451).

The Data Protection Officer: Contactable by emailing dpo@middevon.gov.uk

What we collect and why

We MAY collect the following information as part of our council tax administration, billing, collection and recovery, and enforcement process:

Name
Home address and mailing/forward address if different (plus previous address and move-in/move-out dates)
Telephone
Email
Date of Birth
Family information
Household information
Details of occupancy or tenancy information
Health information including disability
Employment details
Educational details (if applicable)
Financial information
Criminal convictions

The main source of collection of your personal data will be from you as a Mid Devon property owner or resident, we may also be provided initial information (Name and address) by previous or new occupiers, owners or agents.

We may also obtain information about you, your household and your employment and income details from the Department for Work and Pensions, HMRC, employers, Landlords and agents, courts, other local authorities, Tracing Agents, credit checking companies and other internal service areas including Planning, Housing, Electoral Registration, Environmental Health and Benefits

We are using your personal information for the purpose of administering Council Tax (including billing, collecting and enforcement of council tax, maintaining a database of charge payers, applying relevant exemptions or discounts, and consulting on or implementing council tax reduction scheme changes).

This is under the bases of legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)) and public task (Article 6(1)(e)) under the Local Government Finance Act 1991 and supporting legislation.

We may require additional information including bank details for the purpose of issuing refunds as a result of overpayments or in line with national guidance. These details will only be requested when related to a specific purpose or stated refund. These details will not be used for any other purpose.

Some decisions may be made through automated processes. If you would not like your claim to be dealt with using automated processes, please contact us at benefits@middevon.gov.uk

We may use information from your council tax reduction claim to administer refunds and support as part of national government support schemes and other discretionary funding available.

When we are processing special category data, for example data relating to health or disability, we will only process with your consent unless necessary under an article 9 basis, for more details of how we process special category data please read here.

Who will receive and see the personal data

Your personal information will be available to be seen by those within the Revenues and Benefits Department for the purpose of assessing and collecting your payment, and by our Income & Payments Service for the purpose of processing your payment.

Information about you, your household, your account and residential status may also be shared with other service areas including:

Planning Enforcement,
Building Control,
Housing,
Electoral Registration,
StreetScene (Waste Management),
Legal Services and
Environmental Health

For the purpose of carrying out our regulatory functions and legal obligations including those under:

The Town and Country Planning Act,
Building Act 1984 / Building Regulations;
Homelessness Reduction Act 2017;
Housing Act 2004;
Housing and Planning Act 2016;
The Environmental Protection Act; and
For the purpose of identifying and preventing fraud.

Externally, we may share information about you, your household composition, your account and your payment details with:

other billing authorities for the purpose of assessing liability and other financial institutions,
with enforcement agents and insolvency firms for the purpose of debt collection,
with the Valuation Office Agency for property banding purposes;

And for the purposes of administering council tax including assessing liability and enforcement and for fraud identification and prevention.

with the Child Support Agency,
National Fraud Initiative (NFI),
The Insolvency Service,
Employers,
DWP
HMRC
Courts and tribunal service
Police

Regularly updated information relating to council tax accounts and status will be shared with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the purpose of national statistical analysis. This will include account holder names, council tax banding, eligibility for reductions, payments, exemptions and discounts and non-payment penalties.

Information may also be shared with partner agencies during safeguarding investigations and for fraud identification and prevention.

Your billing information is processed by external printers acting on the council’s behalf.

With your consent, we may also share financial information with welfare and advice agencies for the purpose of administering council tax.

Personal information will be stored securely and will not be accessible to anyone else, including other services within the Council, unless detailed above.

Automated Decision Making

We may use automated decision-making processes to assess applications and for the detection of fraud. Automated decision-making refers to any decisions made without human intervention. MDDC uses this to administer specific benefit applications. This type of processing gives you as the data subject specific rights under Article 22.

Retention

All your personal information will be held by us only for as long as is necessary and then in accordance with any legal requirements imposed upon us and the MDDC’s retention schedule. For more information please go to our website to view our Retention Schedule.

Transferring personal information outside of the EU

Your personal information will not be transferred outside the EU or to any international organisations by the Council unless it is lawful to do so. It should be noted that the Council has no control over those accessing its online public registers nor what someone does with any information they obtain from them.

Your rights

Whatever our use of your personal information you have the right of access to that personal information (this means confirmation that we are using your personal information, access to it as well as other detail) and the right to seek rectification if the information is inaccurate.

As we are processing your personal data on the basis of public task and legal obligation, you have the right to object and to restrict processing.

Also, if you object to our use of your personal information and there is no overriding legitimate interest for us to continue using it or we have used your personal information unlawfully or it is no longer necessary for us to have the personal information, the right to erasure is also available to you.

Article 22 allows you to request human intervention in any decisions that are solely automated, contest the decision, obtain information about the logic involved, and the significance and consequences of such processing

Details on each of these rights and to how you exercise can be found on our website Here.

Complaints

If you are dissatisfied with the way the Council has used your personal information then you may wish in the first instance to make a complaint to the Data Protection Officer. This can be done by;

Writing to: Data Protection Officer, Mid Devon District Council, Phoenix House, Phoenix Lane, Tiverton, EX16 6PP.

You can also email: DPO@middevon.gov.uk .

Alternatively, or if you remain dissatisfied following your complaint to the Data Protection Officer, you may lodge a complaint with The Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner is the UK’s independent body set up to uphold information rights. The IC can help and advise you on all matters relating to data protection.

Information Commission

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113

Email: casework@ico.org.uk