Business rates - privacy notice

PN0372-2
Resources and Transformation
Business Rates

Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council of Town Hall, Crossley Street, Halifax, HX1 1UJ is registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018. The Council takes its responsibilities as Data Controller under the Data Protection Act and UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) very seriously. 

This privacy notice explains how your personal information will be processed for the purposes of collecting business rates.

The type of information we will collect

We collect the following personal information from you directly (e.g. via our online forms, email, or post). Sometimes we may obtain information about you from third parties including previous owners, landlords, agents or solicitors, when necessary. 

• Name.
• Contact details (email address, telephone number, postal address).
• Position in the business (e.g. sole trader, partner, nominated contact).
• Bank Account Details (for the purposes of setting up payments).

If there is a dispute about liability, we may need to collect additional information regarding ownership and evidence of occupation. 

Why we collect and hold this information 

• The processing of your data is necessary for compliance with the Council’s legal obligation as a Local Authority to administer and enforce the collection of business rates and Business Improvement District (BID) levies for Halifax and Brighouse, or any other BID proposals that might be created in the future.
• We use the information to assess and collect Business Rates and BID Levies, and to keep the records that we are required to keep by law. If we believe that information that you have given us is inaccurate, we will use the information to consider whether to take formal action.
• We are required by law to protect public funds we administer and may use your information for the prevention and detection of crime (including fraud and money laundering).
• At times, we will also need to review your account where there is a major change being introduced by the Government, for example, in the way that your bill is going to be calculated in future. Ensuring your bill is calculated accurately and efficiently is important to us. 

Sharing your personal data

Your information may be shared with the following services and organisations when necessary:

• Other Council services in order to keep our records as accurate and as up to date as possible and to perform any of our statutory duties, including enforcement.
• HM Revenue & Customs.
• Immigration Service.
• Credit Reference Agencies.
• Courts & Tribunals.
• Police.
• Other Local Authorities.
• Central Government Departments.
• Elected Members / Members of Parliament.
• Contracted 3rd party investigation companies. 

At times, the Council may sometimes work with other external parties to deliver statutory functions or deliver certain services. Where this is the case, we may share your data with these parties for any of the purposes detailed above. These external partners are normally contracted enforcement agencies or the Cabinet Office. The Council has joined the National Fraud Initiative and undertakes data matching exercises to identify potential discrepancies that may indicate fraud.     

We will always ensure that your data is kept secure, is only used for these purposes and not shared or disclosed for any other purpose unless required by law. 

Your personal information will be treated with the strictest confidence and will only be accessible by those who need to access it in order to carry out the above functions.

The lawful basis for the processing your data

We need to collect this information in order to meet our obligations under the following legislation (but not limited to): 

• Local Government Finance Act 1988 and associated regulations governing Business Rates (more formerly known as National Non-Domestic Rates).
• Local Government Finance Act 1992 – the main Act in respect of Council Tax.
• Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 regarding premiums on empty homes.
• Business Improvement Districts (England) Regulations 2004.
• Localism Act 2011.
• Local Government Act 2003.

We process personal information under the following GDPR lawful bases:

• Article 6(1)(c) – for compliance with the legal and statutory duties the Council is subject to under legislation as above.
• Article 6(1)(e) – for the performance of our public task.

Retaining your personal information

We will only retain your data for as long as it is required by the authority or other regulatory bodies in order to comply with legal or regulatory requirements. 

In most cases, this will be for a maximum of 7 (seven) years under the Limitation Act 1980, at which time it will be securely destroyed.

Your rights

The GDPR provides the following rights for individuals. Not all rights are absolute and therefore will only apply in certain circumstances:

1. The right to be informed.
2. The right of access.
3. The right to rectification.
4. The right to erasure.
5. The right to restrict processing.
6. The right to data portability.
7. The right to object.
8. Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling.

You have the right to complain to the Data Protection Officer if you feel that your data has not been handled in accordance with the law. The Council’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at information.management@calderdale.gov.uk.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.