Privacy notice : Council tax, Revenues and controls

Who we are

Revenues and Controls
Town Hall St Ives Road
Maidenhead, SL61RF
Email : Revenues&.Controls@rbwm.gov.uk

Lawful basis for processing information

General Data Protection Regulation Article 6(1)(e) – processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.

The legislation governing Council Tax and National Non-Domestic Rates (Business Rates) is the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

Provision for a contractor to carry out this data processing is included in The Local Authorities (Contracting Out of Tax Billing, Collection and Enforcement Functions) Order 1996.

How we collect information

Personal data is collected from you by paper enquiry forms, electronic forms, by telephone or face to face.

The paper forms used are:

  • Occupation enquiry form.
  • Discount and exemption application forms - a list of available discounts and exemptions can be found on our website.

Information can also be collected from:

  • Landlords.
  • Letting Agents.
  • Other Councils.
  • Department of Work & Pensions.
  • Council departments- Planning, Building Control, Housing Benefits, Housing Options, Debt Recovery, Registrars, Electoral Registration, Adult Social Care, Incomes, Address Management and Environmental Health.
  • BACS Payment Scheme Ltd (formerly known as Bankers Automated Clearing Services).
  • Property Development Companies.
  • Land Registry.

What information is collected

The type of information collected is name(s), address, telephone number and email address, date of birth, date of death, correspondence address, benefit entitlement, Bank details, contact details of your doctor, student details, and income details. We may also collect names and contact details of anyone you have appointed to act on your behalf.

How we use the information provided

All information held by Revenues & Controls is used to:

  • maintain the property database for both Council Tax and Business Rates and to calculate liability and charges for Council Tax and Business Rates.
  • collect monies for Council Tax and business Rates under the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
  • administer the £150 Council tax energy rebate (April 2022).
  • administer the empty homes scheme annually.
  • contact you about relevant consultations that we are legally obliged to contact you about.

Who has access to the information about you

Information is shared with the following departments within the council;

  • The Council Tax and Business Rates department, Debt Recovery and Benefits Department in order to determine correct liability and charges for payment of Council Tax and Business Rates.
  • The Incomes department in order to ensure records are correct and for administration and collection of sundry payments.
  • The Audit department to check of procedures and processes.
  • The Fraud Team for the investigation and prevention of fraudulent claims for any discounts or exemptions.
  • The Customer Service Team; all telephone enquiries for Council Tax are dealt with by the Customer Service Team.
  • Electoral Registration- to determine electors’ eligibility to register to vote at an address.
  • IT services- for technical and system maintenance.
  • The Parking and Enforcement team for the purposes of validating blue badge/resident’s permit applicant address details and for the purposes of validating qualification criteria (age of applicant) for Visitor Voucher discounts.  

Who we may share your information with

Under statutory duties or as required by law information is shared with the Department for Work and Pensions, the Police, the Serious Fraud Office, HM Customs & Excise and the Valuation Office Agency. Information is also shared with Allpay Limited where a payment card is requested by you.

We may also share your information with our auditors, Deloitte for the purpose of conducting an annual audit of our accounts.

If a home is listed as empty, this information will be shared with our contractors, Capital Grid, for the purposes of sending letters to those relevant residents. 

How long we store your information

Information is stored for seven years. Bank details supplied for the implementation of a direct debit instruction are kept for thirteen months from the date of the last claim, in accordance with BACS regulations.

Does your service utilise automated decision making? – No.