Privacy Notice for Council Tax

About the Council’s Privacy Notice for council tax

The privacy notice is to be read in conjunction with the full Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea fair processing notice.

What are the purposes of processing your personal information?

To levy and collect council tax from those who are liable under the provision of The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 and The Local Government Finance Act 1992.

What type of information is collected?

As part of the council tax administration, billing, collection, recovery and enforcement process, the Council will collect certain information where appropriate.

This information collected may include:

  • name
  • home address and mailing/forwarding addresses if different
  • telephone number
  • email address
  • date of birth
  • family information
  • details of occupancy or tenancy information

We also collect some sensitive information such as health, financial information and any criminal convictions and offences for processing any discounts, disregards and exemptions you may be entitled to.

Who processes the information?

The Council’s Customer Access Department has overall responsibility for processing the information outlined in this notice.

Civica UK Ltd is the company contracted by the council to process council tax information and undertakes this function as the council’s data processor.

How is the information used?

We will use it (where applicable) to:

  • determine who is liable to pay council tax and for what period(s)
  • administer, collect, recover and enforce payment of council tax
  • check if you are eligible for any discounts or exemptions when calculating the council tax levy
  • comply with legal obligations, for example the prevention and/or detection of crime including fraud
  • protect public funds; and
  • maintain public safety, mitigating risk of harm and assisting in emergencies

What is the legal basis for processing your information?

Prevailing legislation requires local authorities to levy and collect taxes. The legislation that requires local authorities to collect and administer tax from its domestic premises is as follows:

  • The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992
  • The Local Government Finance Act 1992
  • The Fraud Act 2006 in relation to the prevention or detection of crime, including false representation

Who may we share your information with?

Where appropriate, deemed necessary or required by law the information we collect will be shared with your representatives, the Council’s fraud, audit, finance and contingency planning departments, Government Departments and other agencies and contractors for the purpose of billing and collecting council tax and for the detection, prevention and prosecution of fraud and criminal activity and for; these include;

  • authorised representatives of the person whose personal data we are processing such as their solicitor, third sector debt advice agency,   managing agent, rating agent or insolvency practitioner
  • Newlyn PLC Enforcement Agency as our contracted supplier to undertake enforcement of outstanding Council Tax debts
  • Civica One Step to allow our in-house enforcement team to undertake enforcement of outstanding Council Tax debts
  • Valuation Office Agency to fulfill the statutory obligation to keep the council tax property list up to date
  • the Local Government Ombudsman providing information to allow them to investigate customer complaints as a final stage of the complaints process
  • Locta Ltd and Equifax Ltd for debtor tracing
  • other billing authorities for debtor tracing and checking council tax liability and entitlement to exemptions or disregards
  • The Insolvency Service is a government department that supports those in financial distress, tackles financial wrongdoing and maximising returns to creditors. This may include providing details of outstanding debts owed by a debtor going through bankruptcy / insolvency as requested during the process.
  • Westminster Magistrates Court in respect of obtaining liability orders for further recovery action against non-paying Council Tax customers, dealing with set aside applications, etc.
  • The High Court in relation to bankruptcy applications and queries as well as challenges taken to that court by debtors
  • providing the Police with information requests in accordance to the Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 2 Part 1 Paragraph 2
  • DSI Billing Services Ltd for printing and mailing services
  • The Cabinet Office for the National Fraud Initiative that is a data matching exercise that help detect and prevent fraud
  • Capacity Grid for the Empty Homes Bonus scheme to incentivise house building and occupancy
  • The Office of National Statistics
  • Northgate for our annual Single Person Discount review
  • Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) when the Council applies for an Attachment of Benefits instruction requiring customer information to be provided to the DWP in order to confirm the customer is on a deductible benefit and start the deduction process
  • employers when an Attachment of Earnings order is issued against a customer with a liability order we will provide basic information required on the prescribed order to enable the employer to confirm the customer is still employed by them, whether they can make the deduction (as its subject to minimum earnings amounts) and start the deductions process
  • The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Residential parking permit team to ensure applicants of residential permits are registered for Council Tax as part of eligibility criteria for a permit
  • The Councils Environmental Health Department for empty properties

How long do we keep your records?

We will only keep your information for the minimum period necessary. The information outlined in this privacy notice will be kept for the period required by the council for legal and audit purposes. All information will be held securely and destroyed under confidential conditions.

Your rights

The Data Protection Act 2018 allows you to find out what information is held about you, on paper and computer records. This is known as ‘right of subject access’ and applies to your Council Tax records  along with all other personal records. Details of how to obtain a copy of your records can be found on the Subject Access Requests page.

You are entitled to receive a copy of your records free of charge within 30 calendar days. In certain circumstances, access to your records may be limited, for example, if the records you have asked for contain information relating to another person.

The Data Protection Act 2018 allows you other rights; for example, if there is an error in your records you have the right to make sure it is rectified or erased. Please contact [email protected] with any request or query regarding these rights.

If you are dissatisfied with how the Council has used your personal information you should in the first instance write to the council’s Data Protection Officer at [email protected]. Should you continue to be dissatisfied with the council’s response you have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at [email protected].

Changes in your circumstances

You must notify us immediately if there are any changes in your circumstances and personal details so we can maintain an accurate and up to date record of your information.

Contact details of data controller

Name: Head of Assessments

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 020 7361 3005

Address: Revenues and Benefits, 3rd Floor, Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, W8 7NX

Last updated: 2 June 2023