Council Tax - Privacy Notice

What this Privacy Notice covers

Adur & Worthing Councils are the data controllers (referred to in this notice as 'we' or 'us') of your personal data for the purposes of applicable data protection legislation in relation to administering Council Tax.

The Councils' Data Protection Officer can be contacted at:

In relation to your personal data we are committed to collecting, using and protecting it appropriately. This privacy notice explains:

  • How and why we collect and use your personal data
  • The type of personal data that we collect
  • When and why we will share personal data with other organisations
  • The rights and choices you have in relation to the personal data that we hold about you

Why we need your personal data

The purpose of processing your personal data is to administer Council Tax for Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council.

The legal basis for processing your data is:

  • Articles 6(e) of the General Data Protection Regulations, namely the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and subsequent amending legislation

What we collect and how it is used

We collect names, addresses and banking details for the purposes of administering Council Tax.

We may share personal data with other departments within the Councils and external organisations in the following circumstances:

  • For law enforcement, criminal prosecutions and Court proceedings
  • If we need to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights, including the prevention and detection of fraud or protecting public interests
  • We may also use your data to offer you targeted support from other council teams, eg we can give you the option of speaking to our employment coaches, money mentors or Digital Buddies

Data may be passed to third parties including Government Departments, other local authorities and private-sector companies including those that assist us in fraud detection and prevention. This includes Credit Reference Agencies and data matching via the National Fraud Initiative.

We will not provide personal data to anyone else or use the data about you for any other purpose unless the law allows or requires us to.

Your personal data may be converted ('anonymised') into statistical or aggregated data in such a way that ensures that you cannot be identified from it. Aggregated data can't, by definition, be linked back to you as an individual and may be used to conduct research and analysis, including the preparation of statistics for use in reports.

How long the information is kept for

Records are kept in accordance with the Council's disposal schedule and we will not keep your information for longer than necessary.

Council Tax began on 1st April 1993 and in some instances the amount of Council Tax that is payable can be reduced from this date. Consequently, in order that we are able to refund any money that is due, we keep the necessary records from this date.

Your rights

You have certain rights under UK Data Protection law including:

  • The right to be informed
  • The right of access to your personal data
  • The right of rectification (to have any inaccuracies corrected)
  • The right of erasure (to have your records deleted)
  • The right to restrict processing
  • The right to data portability
  • The right to object
  • Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling

Further information about your rights is available on the website of the Information Commissioner's Office.

If you have a concern about the way that we are collecting or using your personal data, we ask that you contact us in the first instance. Alternatively, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office.

How to contact us

If you have any questions about how we collect, store, or use personal data please:

  • Telephone us on 01273 263111 (in respect of Council Tax data for Adur District Council)
  • Telephone us on 01903 221061 (in respect of Council Tax data for Worthing Borough Council)
  • Email us on revsbens@adur-worthing.gov.uk

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Page last updated: 08 August 2022

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