Privacy Notice for Council Tax

Data Controller:

Mole Valley District Council (“MVDC”) is the body exercising control over the purpose for which and the manner in which your personal data is processed.

Data Controller’s contact details:

MVDC Pippbrook, Dorking RH4 1SJ. Telephone: 01306 885 001.

Data Protection Officer:

Mr Tom Penlington (Solicitor): Telephone: 01306 879 354

The legal basis for and the purposes of the processing:

UK GDPR Article 6(1)(e) Public Task. We are required by legislation to levy and collect Council Tax from those who are liable. The relevant legislation is as follows:

• The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992
• The Local Government Finance Act 1992

We use your information for administering Council Tax to set up an account for billing and collection purposes and for processing any discounts, disregards and exemptions you may be entitled to. We also use your information to undertake enforcement action where payment is not made.

• We will use your information for the purpose of performing any of our statutory enforcement duties. We will make any disclosures required by law and may also share this information with other bodies responsible for detecting/preventing fraud or auditing/administering public funds. We may share the details with other organisations that handle public funds and assist in the processing of other benefits.
• We will share information with a third party where you have given us written permission to do so or the sharing is otherwise permitted by law.
• If requested, Parish Councils will be provided with addresses of properties in their Parish providing it is for the purpose of undertaking Parish business and not for political, commercial, or any other non parish council matter.
• MVDC has a policy document in place (which sets out how MVDC will comply with the data protection principles and which clarifies MVDC’s policies regarding the retention and erasure of relevant personal data).

The source of the personal data:

You will usually have to pay Council Tax if you’re 18 or over and own or rent a home. Your personal information, if not supplied by you, may be collected from a third party such as Estate Agent, Landlord or previous occupier. The data that we collect and process for administering Council Tax is; name, contact details (telephone number and email address), current and previous addresses and household make up in order to accurately apply relevant discounts, exemptions and reliefs. We will also collect your bank details should you pay by direct debit.

Your personal data, including contact details, may be shared with the following recipients and categories of recipients:

• Public agencies, government departments and other organisations as required, to support the collection and recovery of council tax. This may include:- Courts and Tribunals including the Magistrates Courts and the Valuation Office Agency; Ombudsman and regulatory authorities; debt collection, enforcement and tracing agents or other third party data processors working on behalf of the council.
• The Department for Work and Pensions – for requests for attachments of benefits; employers – for requests for attachments to earnings; law enforcement and prosecuting authorities.
• Other council departments for the purposes of delivering other council services – to ensure our records are accurate and up-to-date, to improve the standard of the services we deliver, and to perform any of our statutory duties, including enforcement duties.
• Other bodies, where the law allows this, for the purposes of preventing or detecting fraud.  The council participates in fraud initiatives, including the National Fraud Initiative, and may verify the data we hold with other organisations, including other local authorities and credit reference agencies
• Other people, or organisations/agencies, you have given us consent to share information with. This may include appointees, Members of Parliament and local Councillors.

We have a duty to protect public funds we administer, and we may use information held about you for all lawful purposes, including and not limited to the prevention and detection of fraud, and the matching Council Tax data with electoral registration records.

We will also use the information for the purpose statutory enforcement duties. We will make any disclosures required by law and may also share this information with other bodies responsible for detecting/preventing fraud or auditing/administering public funds. We may share the details with other organisations that handle public funds and assist in the processing of other benefits.

We can share information collected with other departments in the Council, other Local Authorities and the Department for Work and Pensions

Further information on onward transfers:

MVDC will not transfer the personal data you have provided outside of the UK or European Union unless this is permitted in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018

How long the personal data will be kept for:

Council Tax liability and collection information is retained for financial and audit purposes from April 1993. Application forms and other information that you provide in respect of Council Tax liability will be retained for up to seven years.  We only hold information as long as it is needed or required by law and then dispose of it securely. This is accordance with MVDC’s Records Retention and Disposal Schedule.

Statutory Obligations to provide the personal data:

You are required to provide the information that we need to administer, collect and recover Council Tax under The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992.  If you do not provide the information required, or if you make a false statement, you may be required to pay a penalty.

Automated Decision Making:

The personal data provided by you will not be used for any automated decisions.

Data Subject Rights:

From 25 May 2018 you will have some specific rights in respect of your personal data. These may include some or all of the following rights to:

• see what personal data about you MVDC holds at any time (subject to certain caveats, for example where third parties are identified);
• have MVDC correct any errors (if any) in the personal data it holds about you;
• request your personal data is erased (though this right will not apply where MVDC is processing your personal data because it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation);
• request processing of your personal data is restricted (this will only apply in certain situations, for example where its accuracy is contested, where the processing is unlawful and the you oppose its proposed erasure by MVDC, or where MVDC no longer needs to process the personal data, but it is required by you in connection with legal claims);
• object to the processing where the processing is necessary for a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller (though MVDC will still be able to continue with the processing in certain circumstances, such as if there are compelling grounds for the processing which over ride your interests).

Will the personal data be processed for a different purpose?

No. If MVDC needs to inform recipients about any action it has taken under the Data Protection Act then it will do so by placing a Notice on MVDC’s website informing the public of any relevant changes

If you are dissatisfied with how your personal data is processed by MVDC then you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner who can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow SK9 5AF.

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