Fair processing notices - Benefits

How we use your data

To comply with data protection legislation we need to tell you how we use the personal data we hold about you.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is the data controller for the personal information you have given to us in relation to housing benefit, council tax support and discretionary housing payments.

The data we may collect

Identity data: first name, last name, any previous names, marital status, title, date of birth, gender, national insurance number
Contact data: addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses
Household relationships: Information on who lives with the claimant, including their ages, incomes, and relationship to the claimant
Financial and tax data: payslips, employment contracts, P60s, or audited accounts if self-employed; Bank statements, building society passbooks, share certificates, and details of any owned land or secondary properties, income and state benefits; statements or award letters for pensions, Universal Credit, or any other state allowances.
Tenancy agreements: Landlord details, the amount of rent charged, tenancy start dates, and service charge breakdowns
Nationality and right to reside: Passports, biometric residence permits (BRPs), Home Office documentation, or European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) status to verify if the applicant has recourse to public funds.
Fraud investigations: Information relating to suspected benefit fraud, cross-referenced through data-matching initiatives like the National Fraud Initiative (NFI).
Detention status: Details regarding whether a household member is currently in prison, which alters household benefit calculations.

We may collect, store and use the following special category data:

Health and disability conditions: Medical evidence, doctor's letters, and details of diagnosed illnesses
Receipt of disability benefits: Information regarding Personal Independence Payments (PIP), Attendance Allowance, or Disability Living Allowance (DLA).

We will only use your personal data when we have a lawful basis to do so under the UK GDPR. Depending on the purpose for which we use your information, our lawful basis for processing may be that the processing is necessary for the performance of our public tasks or official functions under Article 6(1)(e), to comply with a legal obligation under Article 6(1)(c) of the UK GDPR or for our legitimate interests under Article 6(1)(f). These interests may include investigating complaints and establishing, exercising or defending legal claims. When processing information for the purposes of our public task functions these include using your data in connection with the administration of housing benefit, council tax support, housing payments, or council tax discretionary relief.

Where we process special category data, we will also identify an appropriate condition under Article 9 of the UK GDPR. This may include Article 9(2)(b) (Social Protection), Article 9(2)(g) where processing is necessary for reasons of Substantial Public Interest, or Article 9(2)(f) where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

We will only use or share your data when we are allowed to do so by relevant legislation. We can use social security data, whether it is data you have provided directly to us, or that obtained from the Department for Work and Pensions to:

allow us to calculate your entitlement to housing benefit in accordance with Housing Benefit Regulations 2006. This includes the handling of appeals, the recovery of housing benefit overpayments or the investigation of suspected housing benefit fraud (including fraud relating to DWP benefits)
enable us to establish your entitlement to council tax support in accordance with the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and the Social Security Regulations 2012
establish your eligibility for housing payments in accordance with The Discretionary Financial Assistance Regulations 2001, Welfare Reform Act 2012 and the Social Security Regulations 2012

To assist us in this process, we have entered into an arrangement with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Under this arrangement, we are allowed to access the DWP's database to view income information for non-dependants of our customers who are claiming Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Support. This access enables us to accurately assess the individual's entitlement and determine the appropriate payment amount.

In addition, the use of this data also supports us in the recovery of any overpaid Housing Benefit. It allows us to identify any discrepancies or inaccuracies in the benefit calculations and take necessary measures for recovery as per the applicable legislation.

We want to assure you that the access and usage of this data are strictly limited to the purposes mentioned above. We will handle your personal information with utmost care and in accordance with the principles of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and other applicable data protection laws.

Some of your information may also be used:

to safeguard adults, and children under the Children’s Act 1989
for the prevention and detection of fraud under Digital Economy Act 2017 (Part 5)
for investigating complaints and establishing, exercising or defending legal claims
to ensure the electoral register is accurately maintained in accordance with Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act
to establish your entitlement to other financial assistance provided by the city council including residential care and assistance, and education benefits in accordance with Welfare Reform Act 2012 and the Social Security Regulations 2012, and Section 110 of the Education Act 2005.
for the prevention of homelessness in connection with the Housing Act (1996)
to assist with the collection of money owing to the city council such as rent, council tax, or other sundry debts

We might also share some of your information with other agencies such as:

Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs, in accordance with the Welfare Reform Act 2012, and Schedule 5 to the Tax Credits Act 2002
the Department for Work and Pensions, under the requirement of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 – section 122D
other local authorities under the requirement of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 – section 122E
the rent officer service as required by Housing Benefit Regulations 2006
the Tribunal Service in accordance with the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Social Entitlement Chamber) Rules 2008), and Housing Benefit Regulations 2006
your employer – when seeking to recover overpaid housing benefit only - in accordance with the Welfare Reform Act 2012
third party enforcement agents

Data held for the administration of your benefits/support is held for up to six years following the termination of your claim. We may retain relevant information for longer where this is necessary in connection with a complaint, investigation, legal proceedings, or the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claim.

Data protection legislation provides you with certain rights. Not all of these rights will be available to you in all situations. Where we are under a legal duty to use data for a particular purpose you will not have the right to prevent it being used in that way.

We may share data with our internal audit team to evaluate the effectiveness of the organisation’s risk management, control and governance processes. We may also share your data with the council's fraud team to help to prevent and detect fraud.

A full list of the rights you may have under data protection law is given below:

you can ask to see the information that we hold about you
you can ask what is being done with the information that we hold about you
you can ask to have some data that we hold about you deleted
you can ask us to review a decision made about you by a computer, and ask for a new decision to be made without a computer
you can ask us to stop processing data that we hold about you, but only in limited circumstances, such as processing for research, historical or direct marketing reasons
you can ask us to make changes to inaccurate data
you can ask us to move your information somewhere else
you can ask us to restrict or limit what we do with your data, for example if you believe that data we hold is inaccurate, or you believe the processing in unlawful

We have implemented appropriate security measures to protect your personal information against accidental loss and unauthorised access, use, alteration or disclosure.

We impose controls for access to employee data based on business requirements and in accordance with the relevant lawful bases for processing. Any party with access rights will only process your personal information in accordance with applicable data security policies and procedures, relevant employee obligations or third party contractual terms.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

Who to contact if you have questions

Who to contact if you have questions

You can also email foi@stoke.gov.uk or write to Information Rights Team, Floor 2, Civic Centre, Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1HH

If you wish to complain about how your personal information has been handled by the city council, contact the information rights team in the first instance, on the details provided above.

If you remain dissatisfied the Information Commissioner’s Office can be contacted.

Information Commissioner's website

You have the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at any time.