Business rates privacy notice - Privacy notices

As part of the business rates billing and collection process, Herefordshire Council will collect data where appropriate.

This information may include:

• Name and/or business name
• Current and re-addresses if different
• Details of occupancy, lease or freehold interest in the property
• Other relevant information to process an application for rate relief where appropriate

We will use this data to administer business rates liability and reliefs and may check some of the information with other sources to ensure this data is accurate.

All personal data held is processed in accordance with data protection law. The data controller for the information outlined in this privacy notice is Herefordshire Council. Hoople Ltd is the data processor who will process your information on behalf of Herefordshire Council.

We will collect information and use the information (where applicable) to:

• Establish trading or company names and trading addresses to meet our legal obligation to levy business rates and collect taxes
• Process applications for exemptions and rate relief
• Comply with legal obligations such as crime prevention and/or detection including fraud
• Protect public funds

Legislation requires local councils to levy and collect taxes. The legislation that requires local councils to collect and administer tax from its business premises is:

• The Non-Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Local Lists) Regulations 1989
• The Local Government Finance Acts 1988 and 1992
• The prevention or detection of crime, including false representation in accordance with the Fraud Act

We will share information with agencies in accordance with the Data Protection Statute for the detection, prevention and prosecution of fraud and criminal activity. Examples are:

• The Police
• HM Revenues and Customs

The information will be used:

• For the purpose of performing any of our statutory enforcement duties
• To make any disclosures required by law
• To share information with other bodies responsible for detecting or preventing fraud or auditing or administering public funds

On occasions, your information may be accessed by contracted IT support organisations in the delivery of IT support for both the IT infrastructure and associated systems, for the processes detailed in this privacy notice. IT support will only access the data for reasons such as fixing any technical issues with software, and any viewing of data will be incidental to this.

We will not share your information with organisations unless there is a legal gateway to do so. However, there may be certain circumstances where we would share without your consent, such as where we are required to do so by law, to safeguard public safety, and in risk of harm or emergency situations. Otherwise outside of these conditions, we will only share your information where you have provided your written consent to do so.

We will only keep your information for the minimum period necessary. The information outlined in this privacy notice will be kept for the period required by the council for legal and audit purposes. We will hold your information securely and we will destroy it under confidential conditions.

You have a number of rights under data protection law, including the right to request your information and to request that the information is amended or erased if incorrect.

To request your records, you will need to provide proof of identification and write to the Information Governance Team, Herefordshire Council, Plough Lane, Hereford HR4 0LE or email informationgovernance@herefordshire.gov.uk

You also have the right to make a complaint about our handling of your personal data to the Information Commissioner's Office.

If you have any questions or concerns about how your information is used, please contact the revenues and benefits service - non-domestic rates team at businessrates@herefordshire.gov.uk in the first instance.

You can also contact the Data Protection Officer, Herefordshire Council, Plough Lane, Hereford HR4 0LE, email informationgovernance@herefordshire.gov.uk

You can find more information about data protection and how it applies to you on the Information Commissioner's Office website.

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