The Benefits Service forms part of the Community Services Directorate and this document explains how information will be held about you and processed by the Benefits Service.
This notice should be read in conjunction with our Privacy Policy.
How do we get your information?
Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you. We may also receive personal information indirectly, from the following sources:
Government Agencies: for example, the Department for Works and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs, and other Local Authorities.
What personal data do we process and why
The information we process about you will vary depending on the service being provided, but will fall within the following categories:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Address
- email addresses
- telephone numbers
- financial information
- employee data
- website user stats
- references
- income
- photos
- profession
- disabilities
- etc
It is important we hold accurate and up to date information about you in order to assess your needs and deliver appropriate services. If any of your details change please tell us as soon as possible so that we can update your records.
Why we collect personal information about you.
Wealden District Council will collect and hold personal information relating to you. We use this information for the following purposes: deliver and manage the services we provide
- train and manage our workers who deliver those services
- investigate your queries or complaints you may have about our services
- check the quality of our services
- assist with research and planning of new services
Lawful basis for processing your personal data
We process personal data because it is necessary to comply with our legal obligations which are:
- in line with the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 and the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (England) Regulations 2012.
We will not be able to assess and process your application without the personal data you provide to us.
and
- Your consent. If you would like to withdraw your consent, you can do this by contacting informationgovernance@wealden.gov.uk.
- We have a contractual obligation.
- We have a vital interest.
- We need it to perform a public task.
- We have a legitimate interest.
Wealden District Council is a data controller for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 and Data Protection Act 2018. We collect, hold and use your personal data in order to work out your housing benefit or council tax reduction claim. We will only collect the personal data from you we need in order to provide this service to you.
Who do we share your data with?
The data you provide may be disclosed with other departments of the Council or external organisations for related purposes or as required by law. We may share information with the following types of organisations:
- Government agencies for example: Department of Works and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs
In some circumstances, such as under a court order, we are legally obliged to share information, and we may also share information with the Police and other enforcement agencies for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection, or prosecution of criminal offences.
We may also share information internally, in order to verify or confirm your personal details, to ensure our records are accurate and up-to-date. Data held by this service will only be used by other internal departments or services when we are satisfied there is a lawful basis for doing so and is considered fair.
Do we use data processors?
Data processors are third parties who provide certain parts of our services for us. We have contracts in place with them and they cannot do anything with your personal information unless we have instructed them to do so. Our current data processors for this service are listed below
| Data Processor | Purpose | Privacy Notice Link |
|---|---|---|
Software we use
We use various pieces of software in order to deliver our Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction services. All of our software providers are complaint under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 and Data Protection Act 2018.
Transfer of personal data
No data is transferred overseas as part of this service.
Automated decision making
The Benefits Service do not use automated decision making in respect of your personal data.
Retention period
We process your personal data for the above purposes for no longer than necessary and in accordance with current legislation and the Councils Retention Schedule.
Only in exceptional circumstances will we hold your information for longer, for example a pending court case. All information will be held securely and disposed of confidentially.
Anonymising your data
Your personal information maybe converted into statistical or aggregated data that ensures that you cannot be identified from it. Anonymised data means it cannot be linked back to you as an individual and may be used to conduct research and analysis. This includes the preparations of statistics for use in our reports.
Your rights
Your rights are set out in the Data Protection legislation and include:
- the right to access your personal information, to request rectification or erasure of certain personal
- information and to object to processing in certain circumstances
- the right to withdraw any consent you may have given to process your personal information
- the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel we are processing your personal information unlawfully
- the right to restrict processing activity in certain circumstances
- the right to object to certain types of processing activity
You can get more information about these rights in the Council’s Privacy Policy.
Further information
If you wish to exercise any of these rights please contact our Information Governance team on informationgovernance@wealden.gov.uk in writing or by completing our online form.
If you have any questions or concerns about how your personal data is handled, you can contact our Data Protection Officer (DPO), Kristina Shaw-Hamilton, at dataprotection@wealden.gov.uk.