Housing benefits and Council Tax reductions privacy notice

Why we collect data

We are a data controller for the personal information we hold about you in relation to Housing Benefit and Council Tax rteductions. In order to comply with data protection legislation we want to be sure you understand how we use this information.

Purposes

The purposes for which your data will be used are:

  • ensuring that you receive the correct amount of Housing Benefit
  • ensuring that you receive the correct amount of Local Council Tax reduction
  • ensuring that you receive any other rebates or payments that you are entitled to
  • recovering any overpaid Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax reduction
  • assessing any Discretionary Housing Payments or Council Tax reductions that we may be able to pay to you
  • preventing and detecting fraud and error within the benefit system

Legislation

We are able to do this because legislation says we must do it and the processing is necessary for compliance with legal obligations. There are very many different regulations covering the administration of Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Reductions. The main rules are contained in:

  • Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992
  • Social Security Administration Act 1992
  • Social Security Act 1998
  • The Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (as amended)
  • Local Government Finance Act 1992
  • Local Government Finance Act 2012
  • The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Default Scheme) (England) Regulations 2012

This list is not exhaustive.

We are required by law to hold and use some of your information for:

  • administering the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction schemes
  • preventing and detecting fraud and error within those schemes or other areas

Sharing information

We may share your information with:

  • other agencies involved in the processing of benefits (this would typically be the Department for Works and Pensions, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs or the Valuation Office Agency)
  • other councils or organisations as part of the national fraud initiative
  • your landlord, in limited circumstances only

Otherwise, we will only share your data if you ask us to, or if it is in the public interest to do so and the law requires or allows us to. 

DWP sometimes needs information about people other than the person who has applied for a benefit or service to work out what that person is entitled to. For example, where a person makes a claim for Universal Credit, we need information about other people who live in the same household to work out how much the person will be paid.