Westmorland and Furness Council privacy notice Business rates and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)

What information we collect

We need some personal data from you. This includes:

  • name
  • address
  • email address
  • telephone number
  • financial information including income and expenditure
  • ownership and lease details
  • information about your account

We may also collect company information including:

  • business name
  • business and or head office address
  • company directors

We need some special category data from you. This includes:

  • health conditions or disabilities
  • bank details, income and expenditure, credit or debit card details for processing payments only

We need some criminal and law enforcement data from you. This includes:

  • allegations or suspicions of fraud, including Council Tax, business rates and benefits
  • convictions and offences
  • court outcomes
  • fines
  • sanctions and enforcement actions
  • intelligence and risk indicators reported by internal teams or third parties
  • information obtained from law enforcement

How we collect your data 

We’ll collect data from you:

  • online
  • over the phone
  • by email or in writing from you via letters, application forms 
  • by email or in writing from landlords, letting agents and other organisations
  • in person
  • from council inspectors and other departments such as planning
  • through requests for information from other local authorities and public bodies
  • through searches of the internet and social media services
  • through searches of land registry records

Why we collect your data

We collect your data so we can:

  • administer and enforce business rates under the Local Government Finance Act 1988 
  • make sure charges are correct
  • make sure you receive the statutory or discretionary reliefs, reductions or support that you're entitled to
  • take payments for business rates
  • action non-payment, including the issues of recovery documents and notices, court referrals and recovering unpaid business rates
  • manage and collect BIDs
  • process changes in circumstances
  • protect public funds in the detection and prevention of fraud

Who we collect data from 

We may receive personal, special category personal or criminal and law enforcement data about you from the third parties mentioned above and other public bodies and organisations. In this case, we will tell you the source of the information unless we are unable to do so by law.

Who we share your personal data with

We may share your data with:

  • internal and external auditors
  • Westmorland and Furness BIDs
  • Cabinet Office for the National Fraud Initiative 
  • courts and prisons 
  • credit reference agencies
  • His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
  • enforcement agents and tracing agencies
  • elected members and members of parliament, if you have made a complaint to them
  • law enforcement and prosecuting authorities
  • legal representatives, insolvency practitioners and His Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service
  • local and central government departments
  • Local Government Ombudsman or Information Commissioner
  • other council departments, such as enforcement and building control teams
  • partner agencies, approved organisations and individuals working with the police
  • police forces for the prevention and detection of crime
  • printing and mailing suppliers, to issue notifications and recovery documentation
  • professional advisers and consultants
  • professional bodies
  • regulatory bodies
  • your representatives or advice agencies
  • software providers who provide upgrades or host information for us
  • staff
  • Valuation Office Agency and the Valuation Office Tribunal Service
  • third parties

We process personal data by selecting at least one legal basis from:

  • UKGDPR Article 6(1) (c) Legal Obligation
  • UKGDPR Article 6(1) (e) Public Task/Public Interest/Official Authority

Where we rely on UKGDPR Article 6(1)(c), all relevant legislation is listed below.

We process special category personal data by selecting at least one legal basis from: 

  • UKGDPR Article 9 (2) (a) Explicit consent
  • UKGDPR Article 9 (2) (f) Necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims
  • UKGDPR Article 9 (2) (g) Substantial public interest

We process criminal and law enforcement data by selecting at least one legal basis from:

  • UKGDPR Schedule 8(1) Statutory Purposes
  • UKGDPR Schedule 8(8) Preventing Fraud

Relevant legislation

The relevant legislation includes:

  • Local Government Finance Act 1992
  • Local Government Finance Act 1988
  • Local Government Finance Act 2012
  • Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992
  • The Fraud Act 2006
  • The Localism Act 2011
  • The Equality Act 2010
  • The Digital Economy Act 2017