Benefits Privacy Statement

This privacy notice explains how we process your personal data when you interact with us and information about your rights under data protection legislation.

We reserve the right to update this privacy notice. Changes apply as soon as they are published. We recommend that you visit this page regularly to find out about any updates that may have been made.

This should be read in conjunction with the main privacy notice

Who we are

We are Swale Borough Council. We are the “data controller”. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use your personal data.

Address:

• Swale House
• East Street
• Sittingbourne
• Kent
• ME10 3HT

Phone: 01795 417850

You can find us in the Information Commissioner’s register of organisations who have paid the data controller fee. Our reference number is Z7353758.

What Service is being provided?

The Administration of benefits.

How we collect information from you

We collect information from you when you:

• Visit Swale.Gov.uk
• Contact us in writing
• Speak to us on the phone, email or any other type of electronic communication
• Talk to us face to face

What personal information do we collect from you

• Name
• Address
• Forwarding address
• Phone number
• Email address
• Date of birth
• Financial information
• Bank name, sort code and account name and number
• Employment
• National Insurance
• Identification
• Vehicle Registration
• Visas
• Court proceedings
• Landlord and agent details (where applicable)
• Probate details
• Children's gender, disabilities and date of birth in the household (where applicable)
• Wage slips
• Child Benefit letter
• Proof of child maintenance
• Pension information
• Childcare provider

Special types of personal information collected

Where applicable and necessary we also hold the following types of special category data:

• medical details including health information where it pertains to an exemption/discount or benefit and details of your doctor(s)
• disability details where it pertains to an exemption and/or discount or benefit
• criminal background

Why do we collect this information

We use your personal data to:

• Process Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit claims.
• Process Discretionary Housing Payments.
• Conduct Housing Benefit investigations.
• Support a change in circumstances
• Process referral to the Supported Housing Improvement Programme (SHIP) Team. This project is designed to establish the quality of existing and planned accommodation and support. It will verify that public funds are being used appropriately. The overarching intent is to improve the standard of provision for vulnerable people and to guard against exploitation of these people by unsuitable landlord/providers.
• Obtain and validate information provided against records held by the Department of Work and Pensions and Cabinet Office.
• Data derived from DWP and HMRC will be used in the testing or development environment.
• Conduct reviews on into the application of exemptions and discounts for benefits.
• Conduct reviews on overpayments of benefits
• Conduct appeals
• Initiate court proceedings arising where necessary.
• Retain a record so we can audit, and quality assure our services, and to inform decision-making about our services.
• Plan and manage our services and to meet the requirements of external regulators.
• to keep visitors and staff safe and secure, we use CCTV at our premises.

We also use cookies and other analytic technologies to give you a better experience on our website and to improve the relevance of online advertising you see. For more information, please see our Cookie Notice.

How the law allows us to use your personal information

Under data protection law, UK GDPR Article 6(1), there are lawful bases that allow us to collect, process and share personal information. The lawful basis for processing your information for the outlined purpose is:

Both legal obligation and in the public interest. Our lawful basis for processing special category data is substantial public interest. Dependent on the investigation, our lawful basis is in accordance with the following legislation:

• Local Government Finance Act 1992 as amended
• Council Tax Administration and Enforcement Regulations 1992
• Local Government Finance Act 1988 as amended
• Non-Domestic Rates Regulations
• Non-Domestic Rates Act 2023
• Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014
• Discretionary Financial Assistance Regulations 2001
• Social Security Administration Act 1992

For Supported Housing Improvement Programme (SHIP) referrals:

• Inspect local accommodation conditions and enforce improvements and removals of hazards where needed (Housing Act 2004).
• Research and collect evidence on the provider and scheme in relation to a claim for Housing Benefit by an individual, to assess whether the eligibility conditions have been met for specified accommodation (as per regulation 86 of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006). The power to administer HB comes from the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992.
• Increase standards of support exempt accommodation in line with the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023.

For discretionary Housing payments:

• the party payment is paid to under section 8 of Discretionary Housing Payment Policy

Our lawful basis to capture CCTV images of members of the public is public interest.

Who will we share this information with

Your personal data will only be shared with other organisations, when necessary, if the law allows us, and we always aim to share the minimal data as is necessary.

We share your personal data with the following parties where it is necessary for us to do so:

• Landlords
• Valuation office
• Medical practitioners
• Fraud and compliance investigators
• Council tax officers
• Enforcement officers
• HM prisons
• Pensions service
• Other local authorities
• Central government, including cabinet office and department of work and pensions
• Police
• Housing associations
• Credit agencies
• Social workers
• Support workers
• Supported Housing Improvement Programme (ship) at Medway Council
• Destin
• IDIS
• National Anti-Fraud Network – NAFN
• Kent Intelligence Network
• Locta
• Retriever
• Xantura
• Policy in Practice
• Southern water

We may also share personal data with anti-fraud, law enforcement agencies, for prevention or detection of crime/fraud or other legal obligation.

How long will we keep your information for

• Data sent via e-mail will be kept for 7 years from the date received
• Data arising from evidence and investigations will be kept for 6 years plus 1 year from the end of the service being provided to you
• CCTV footage will be kept for 30 days

Storing your personal data

The council stores your personal data in the UK. We do not transfer your personal data to any other countries including countries in the EU and EEA (European Economic Area).

Third parties may transfer your personal data outside the UK. Please refer to their privacy notices for more details.

Your rights

• Right to be informed – You have the right to be informed about the collection and use of their personal information.
• The Right of Access – you can request copies of any of your personal information that is held by the Council.
• The Right to Rectification – you can ask us to correct any incorrect information.
• Right to Erasure – you can ask us to delete your personal information. The Council can refuse to delete information if we have a lawful reason to keep this.
• Right to object or restrict processing – you have the right to object to how your information is being used and how it is going to be used in the future.
• Right to Portability – you can ask us to transfer your personal information to different services or to you.
• Right to prevent automatic decisions – you have the right to challenge a decision that affects you that has been made automatically without human intervention, for example an online form with an instant decision.

How you can access information held about you

By law, you have rights as a data subject, such as the rights detailed above. These rights are not absolute, but if you would like to exercise your rights or make a complaint regarding how your information is used, you should contact the Data Protection Officer at:

Email: DataProtectionOfficer@Swale.gov.uk

There is no charge for you to exercise your rights. We may refuse your request or make a reasonable charge if your request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing issues you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

• Information Commissioners Officer
• Wycliffe House
• Water Lane
• Wilmslow
• Cheshire
• SK9 5AF

Phone: 0303 123 1113

Email: casework@ico.org.uk

Website: https://ico.org.uk/

Your Obligations

It is important that you tell us if your personal data changes while you are using our services. This will mean that the data we hold about you is kept up to date and accurate.