Who is responsible for your data?
Fylde Borough Council is the Data Controller for the personal information you have provided in this form. The Council’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dpo@fylde.gov.uk or by writing to Data Protection Officer, The Town Hall, St Anne’s Road West, St Anne’s, FY8 1LW
What do we do with the information you give us in your application and any supporting information?
When you wish to claim Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction we will require the following information, with evidence where requested, to be able to calculate your entitlement: – name and address; proof of identity; date of birth; national insurance number; household details; income and savings details; tenancy, property and landlord details, where appropriate; contact phone number and/or email (if you choose to provide this); bank details if we are to pay Housing Benefit to you. If you do not provide this information we may not be able to pay you any benefit. If you provide false information you may be paid the wrong amount. We will use the information you have given us in your application and any supporting information to decide whether you are entitled to council tax reduction or housing benefit and, if you are, to calculate the amount and to process and make the payment. If we create an overpayment, we will use your information to help us recover it.
What is the lawful basis for processing my information?
Processing your information is necessary for us to administer housing benefit and council tax reduction, each of which is a task carried out in the public interest, in accordance with the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006, the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations 2006, the Social Security Administration Act 1992, the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012, and Fylde Council’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme.
Who will we share your information with?
We will share your information with other Council Services where this is permitted by the legislation or is necessary to ensure you are receiving services to help you. We will share your information with Blackpool Council, which administers the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction schemes on behalf of Fylde Borough Council. We will also share your information with the Department for Work and Pensions or other Government departments. We will also share your information with others if we are required to do so by law, to fulfil a statutory duty or ordered to do so by a Court. We may share information with your landlord if you have given permission to us to do so or where we are required to do so to fulfil a public task. We participate in the Cabinet Office’s National Fraud Initiative – a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. The use of data by the Cabinet Office in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority under Part 6 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.
How long will we keep your information?
We will keep your information securely for the time that you are claiming Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction. When your claim stops we will then keep your information securely for a further 6 years to comply with legislation. More information on retention can be found on our website (www.fylde.gov.uk).
Other
We do not transfer your information to a third country (that is a country outside of the EEA). If you claim Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction we may use your information in some calculations which use an automated decision-making process i.e. financial calculations and/or changes to entitlement following receipt of data from the Department for Work and Pensions. If this applies we will let you know the outcome.
Your Rights
You have a number of rights relating to the processing of your information, including the right to access the information we hold about you (via a Subject Access Request), the right to erasure (the right to be forgotten) and the right to have inaccurate data corrected. More information about your rights can be found on the Council’s website (www.fylde.gov.uk), the Information Commissioner’s website (www.ico.org.uk) or you can ask for information about these rights from the Council’s Data Protection Officer.
Complaints
If you are not happy with how the Council has handled your personal information, you can complain to us to give us an opportunity to resolve this with you. You should contact the Data Protection Officer if you have a complaint. Alternatively, you can complain to the Information Commissioner. Their contact details are: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, WILMSLOW, Cheshire, SK9 5AF Telephone 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or by email to casework@ico.org.uk
