- What personal information do we collect?
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We collect and process a range of information about you. This includes
- your name, address and contact details, including email address and telephone number (you do not have to provide this, but it may make it easier to resolve any issues)
- financial information such as bank details, records of income and savings
- your national insurance number and evidence of identity
- your nationality and immigration status
- your date of birth
- your marital status and who you live with
- your gender
- your employment status and information about your employment
- information on your property such as the amount of rent you are paying
- health data, if relevant to your claim We collect this information in a variety of ways. For example, it may be supplied by you when filling out a form or calling our customer services department.
- Why do we process personal data?
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Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support assessments are made either using regulations laid down by the Government or in accordance with a local scheme agreed by the Council. We will not be able to assess any entitlement without the personal data you provide us with. We also collect and use your contact details to communicate with you about your assessments and entitlements. This is not a legal requirement and is done with your consent.
- Who has access to your personal data?
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When necessary your information will be shared with the parties set out below for the purposes stated above.
- your landlord, your employer or your pension provider (in order to confirm information that you have given us if you are unable to provide the proof yourself)
- Department for Work and Pensions
- Cabinet Office (National Fraud Initiative)
- HM Revenue & Customs
- Other council departments such as Finance. (If you have a benefit overpayment please see the "Sundry Debtors and Housing Benefit Overpayment Privacy Notice")
- Commissioned partners including Northgate
- The Police - for the prevention and detection of crime We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law.
We do not allow our data processors to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions and data protection laws. They are also obliged to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the security of data. We will not transfer your data to countries outside the European Economic Area.
- How do we protect personal data?
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The organisation takes the security of your data seriously. The organisation has internal policies and controls in place to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by its employees in the performance of their duties. Data will only be processed by members of staff authorised by the Data Controller for this purpose. Access to our systems is limited to authorised members of the Customer Service, Housing Benefit and Housing teams whose job role requires access to the personal data.
- How long do we keep your personal data?
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We keep all records relating to benefits for as long as you have a live and ongoing claim with us. Even if your claim is closed, we will keep your Housing Benefit records for the current financial year and for the six financial years following the year that your claim is closed. For Council Tax Benefit and Council Tax Support purposes, we will keep details of the property or properties and dates for which you received financial support. This is in case there is a change to the Council Tax Band of the property that affects the amount of eligible assistance. Council Tax re-banding can be backdated back to 1 April 1993 and the band can increase or decrease.
- Your rights
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As a data subject, you have a number of rights, including access to your data. A request for access can be made via our website or by sending an email to foi@runnymede.gov.uk
Data Protection Subject Access Request(SAR) | Introduction – Runnymede Borough Council
To find out more about your rights please see the ‘Your Rights’ section of our main privacy statement
If you believe that Runnymede Borough Council has not complied with your data protection rights, you should initially try to resolve it with the relevant department.
If you are unable to resolve the issue to your satisfaction contact our Data Protection Officer (DPO) who will investigate. If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the DPO’s review you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner. You can find out further information on making a complaint to the Information Commissioner on their website Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)