Westmorland and Furness Council privacy notice Council Tax

This service:

  • administers and collects Council Tax
  • assesses eligibility for discounts and reliefs
  • manages billing, payment and recovery of Council Tax in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992
  • prevents and detects fraud

What information we collect

We need some personal data from you. This includes:

  • name
  • address
  • date of birth
  • occupancy details, such as how many adults live in the property
  • email address
  • telephone number
  • National Insurance number
  • financial information, such as employment and benefit details
  • ownership details
  • other data relating to your account

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

  • health conditions or disabilities
  • financial information including your bank details, income and expenditure, credit or debit card details
  • ethnicity and nationality

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
  • inspections by the Council and housing department
  • through requests for information by other local authorities and public bodies
  • through internet and social media searches
  • through land registry records searches

Why we collect your data

We collect your data so we can:

  • make sure charges are correct
  • make sure you receive the statutory or discretionary discounts, exemptions, or support you are entitled to
  • take Council Tax payments
  • allocate payments and refunds
  • action non-payment, including the issues of recovery documents and notices, court referrals and recover unpaid Council Tax
  • administer central government grants or discounts
  • identify and take steps to bring vacant dwellings back into use
  • protect public funds in the detection and prevention of fraud

Who we share your personal data with

We may share your data with:

  • internal and external auditors
  • 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, such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
  • Local Government Ombudsman or Information Commissioner
  • other council departments, such as enforcement, building control, planning, housing, accounts payable, and benefits 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 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'll tell you the information source, unless we are unable to do so by law. 

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