Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Support privacy notice
Who are we and what do we do
Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Support is part of Gateshead Council. We are based at the Civic Centre, Gateshead. We provide the following services:
calculation and payment of Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Support and free school meals
This privacy notice provides specific information about how we process your personal data. It is an addition to the information contained in our Corporate Privacy Notice.
What type of information is collected about you
We collect personal information to understand your needs and provide services. Information may include:
- name
- address
- date of birth
- email address
- telephone number
- bank accounts
- benefits and allowances
- earned income
- employment details
- immigration details
- investments
- landlord details
- National Insurance (NI) number
- property ownership
- rent paid
- savings
Any other information required to calculate benefit and support, such as dates of changes to circumstances and evidence to support the details of your application
How we collect information about you
We collect information about you from various sources to ensure that we meet your needs, including:
- applications for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support, either online or paper forms made by you or someone acting on your behalf
- applications for local welfare assistance, Discretionary Housing Payments, free school meals and home to school transport
- automated information received via the Department for Works and Pensions or HMRC
- accessing the Department for Works and Pensions benefit information
- records of liability for Council Tax that we hold
- the Council's housing rent system
- from registered social landlords and private landlords
- reusing data held to establish other potential welfare support
Why we need your information
Our purpose for collecting personal information is to enable us to:
calculate your Housing Benefit and or Local Council Tax Support claim.
We may also collect the details of a partner, children and any other adults that live in your household.
Information collected for Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Support can also be used for the following:
- to make you liable (if appropriate) for Council Tax at your address
- to help collect Council Tax
- to assist in the recovery of Housing Benefit overpayments
- to process free school meals
The lawful basis for our processing is:
- legal obligation to which the data controller is subject
- task in the public interest
- employment, social security and social protection (if authorised by law)
Our lawful basis for processing of sensitive personal data is:
- employment, social security and social protection (if authorised by law)
- substantial public interest
The legislation the service is obliged to comply with includes:
- Housing Benefit Regulations 2006
- Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 and associated Regulations
- Local Council Tax Support Scheme under S13A and Schedule 1a of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and associated regulations
- Education Act 1996 section 512
- School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2018
Who your information can be shared with
Our Corporate Privacy notice explains information sharing the Council carries out. This sharing fulfils statutory obligations, legal requirements and service delivery. Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Support can share your information with:
- Housing Benefit Matching Service for prevention and detection of fraud
- Ipsos MORI who conduct research on behalf of the DWP on the effectiveness of Discretionary Housing Payments
Ipsos MORI may approach and invite you directly, to participate in their research.
- registered social landlords and private landlords if your Housing Benefit is paid direct to them
If you have agreed that we can share information with your landlord, this means that we can tell them about the progress of your claim. If you didn't agree to us sharing information about the progress of your claim with your landlord, you can update your preference. After you have sent us your claim sheet, please tell us in writing that you now agree to share that information.
- the Valuation Office Agency Rent Service (for private tenants)
- other organisations that handle public funds, process benefits and recover Housing Benefit overpayments
We may use information from your Housing Benefit or Local Council Tax Support applications to identify other available support, such as free school meals. View the free school meals privacy notice. We will do so by sharing information with the other internal and external organisations mentioned.
Our lawful basis for sharing this data is legal obligation or task in the public interest. Your consent is not required.
If we wish to share your information with other council services or third parties for purposes outside of those listed above we will ask your permission.
How long we will keep your information
We keep your information for as long as we need to provide services to you. We may also need to keep your information in accordance with legal or other obligations. Where we have no need to keep your data it will be securely destroyed. We keep a Record of Processing Activity (a requirement under the GDPR). This sets out the specific retention periods applicable in different circumstances. For more information please contact: pamrichardson@gateshead.gov.uk
Where your information is held
We hold personal information in secure electronic systems on Gateshead council servers.
How you can update your information
Our delivery of efficient services depends on the accuracy of your information.
Please inform us of any changes to the following:
- email address
- personal circumstances
- postal address
- any of the other information we hold
Please contact: benefitenquiries@gateshead.gov.uk
Your information rights
Please see the relevant section of our Corporate privacy notice.
Marketing and e-newsletters
Please see our email marketing privacy notice.
Business intelligence, profiling and automated-decision making
Please see the relevant section of our Corporate privacy notice.
Protecting your information
Please see the relevant section of our Corporate privacy notice.
Data Protection Officer
Data Protection Officer
Civic Centre
Regent Street
Gateshead
NE8 1HH
Contact telephone number: 0191 433 3000
Information Commissioner's Office
The Information Commissioner is the UK's independent body for upholding information rights. Visit their website to find out more about your rights under Data Protection law, and what to expect from us.
For privacy practices or data protection rights concerns, contact the Information Commissioner's Office:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Contact telephone number: 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545 745