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Your data: Council Tax

How we use your data

Aberdeen City Council collects and maintains information about you in order to administer and collect Council Tax within Aberdeen City. This is an activity we are legally required to carry out under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations.

This information can include:

  • Your name
  • The name(s) of any other people who live in your property
  • Your address 
  • Financial information including bank details for you and others in your household
  • Contact details for you and others in your household
  • Any forwarding address or details of any other properties you own or lease in Aberdeen City
  • Matriculation numbers and details about courses of study for students
  • Information relating to disabilities or mental impairment for you and others in your household where this is needed to establish entitlement to discount or exemption.

We are also provided with information from a variety of different sources, including (but not limited to) private landlords, Housing Associations, other Local Authorities, Grampian Assessor, Electoral Registration Officer, Aberdeen University, Robert Gordon University, North East Scotland College, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), HMRC, other Council departments and Sheriff Officers. This information is also used by us for administering and collecting Council Tax.

In some circumstances we will use automated decision making to speed up the time it takes to deal with some simple council tax processes. We currently use automated decision making for the following:

  • Index an online application to your account
  • Change of addresses where you are moving into or out of Aberdeen.
  • Purpose Built Student Accommodation

We have more detailed privacy information about how automated decision-making works in these processes. Please read our frequently asked questions. We will always tell you if a decision has been made about you solely on the basis of automated processing, and you will always be able ask us to reconsider this automated decision if you don’t think it is right. 

We also use Council Tax information to verify and update name, address and contact details across the Council, to make sure that we are keeping your personal information accurate and up to date. We may share contact details that you have provided to us with other Council services to enable them to contact you.

We share information with the DWP, HMRC, Grampian Assessor and Sheriff Officers a variety of other organisations all as allowed by law. We are required by law to protect the public funds we administer. We may share information provided to us with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds, in order to prevent and detect fraud.

On behalf of the Auditor General for Scotland, Audit Scotland appoints the auditor to audit the accounts of Aberdeen City Council. Audit Scotland currently requires us to participate in a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. We provide sets of data to Audit Scotland for matching for each exercise. These are set out in Audit Scotland's instructions.

The use of data by Audit Scotland in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority, normally under its powers in Part 2A of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000. It does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under the Data Protection law.

Data matching by Audit Scotland is subject to a Code of Practice.

Audit Scotland are also responsible for carrying out data matching exercises. Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one body against other computer records held by the same or another body to see how far they match. This is usually personal information.

Computerised data matching allows potentially fraudulent claims and payments to be identified but the inclusion of personal data within a data matching exercise does not mean that any specific individual is under suspicion. Where a match is found it indicates that there may be an inconsistency that requires further investigation. No assumption can be made as to whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an investigation is carried out. The exercise can also help bodies to ensure that their records are up to date.

For further information on Audit Scotland's legal powers and the reasons why it matches particular information, please see the full text privacy notice or contact:

Revenues and Benefits
Business Hub 16
Aberdeen City Council
Marischal College
Broad Street
Aberdeen
AB10 1AB

More information about all of the processing activities carried out as part of carrying out Council Tax duties is included in the table below.

How long we keep your information for

We have a project underway to implement deletion of Council Tax information where the liability for Council Tax within Aberdeen City has ended and there are no outstanding Council Tax balances. Information will only be deleted where these circumstances have been met and the information is older than the current financial year plus six years. The full range of circumstances where we will keep or delete information is being decided as part of this work and will be detailed here on completion of the project.

Where we make decisions based on automated processing, the tool we use does not retain information for longer than 24 hours.  

Your rights

You’ve got legal rights about the way the Council handles and uses your data, which include the right to ask for a copy of it. You can email the Council’s Data Protection Officer on DataProtectionOfficer@aberdeencity.gov.uk or write to:

Legal and Democratic Services
Business Hub 6
Level 1 South
Marischal College
Aberdeen
AB10 1AB

See more information about all of the rights you have

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office. They are the body responsible for making sure organisations like the Council handle your data lawfully.

Our legal basis

Aberdeen City Council is the Data Controller for your information. Wherever we are processing personal information we need to make sure we have a legal basis in data protection law. The table below sets out the Council’s legal basis for each of the data processing activities we carry out with Council Tax data.

What we do Why we do it What our legal basis is Where we get our legal basis from 
Receiving Council Tax from data subjects directly Administering Council Tax Legal obligation Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations

Receiving information from private landlords about tenants who may be liable for Council Tax

Administering Council Tax Legal obligation Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Receiving information from Registered Social Landlords (including ACC Housing) about tenants who may be liable for Council Tax Administering Council Tax Legal obligation Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Receiving information from Landlords, Owners, Solicitors, Letting Agents and Estate Agents about individuals who may be liable for Council Tax Administering Council Tax

Legal obligation

Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Receiving information from Owners/Landlords of Purpose Built Student Accommodation about their occupants. Administering Council Tax

Legal obligation

Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Receiving information from the Grampian Assessor Administering Council Tax Legal obligation Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Receiving information from the Electoral Registration Officer Administering Council Tax Legal obligation Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Receiving information from Sheriff Officers/ Debt Collection Services about individuals who may be liable for Council Tax Administering Council Tax

Legal obligation

Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Receiving information from local Colleges and Universities about matriculated students who may be liable for Council Tax Administering Council Tax Public Task
 
Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations 
Receiving information from DWP about individuals who may be liable for Council Tax Administering Council Tax

Legal obligation

Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Receiving information from HMRC about individuals who may be liable for Council Tax Administering Council Tax

Legal obligation

Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Receiving information from other local authorities about individuals who may be liable for Council Tax Administering Council Tax

Legal obligation

Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Sharing information about individuals and their Council Tax liability with HMRC Administering Council Tax

Legal obligation

Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Sharing information about individuals and their Council Tax liability with DWP Administering Council Tax

Legal obligation

Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Sharing information about individuals and their Council Tax liability with other local authorities Administering Council Tax Legal obligation Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations

Sharing information about individuals and their Council Tax liability with the Grampian Assessor

Administering Council Tax Legal obligation Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Sharing information about individuals and their Council Tax liability with our Empty Homes team to enable them to identify vacant dwellings and take steps to bring these back into use  Administering Empty Homes 

Legal obligation

Undertaking our public tasks as a Local Authority

Local Government Finance Act 1992 Schedule 2

Housing (Scotland) Act 2010, s157 

Using information about individuals and their Council Tax accounts to manage the administration of council tax, including for reporting & improving performance, and strategic planning Administering Council Tax

Legal obligation

Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Retaining information about individuals and their Council Tax accounts in accordance with the Council’s Records Retention & Disposal Schedule Evidencing completion of our Council Task administration duty Legal obligation Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Providing information about individuals and their Council Tax liability and accounts to Sheriff Officers/ Debt Collection Services in order that Council Tax debt can be collected or otherwise settled on our behalf Administration and collection of Council Tax

Legal obligation

Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
Providing Council Tax data to Audit Scotland for data matching exercises as part of the National Fraud initiative To prevent and detect fraud, crime, to assist in the apprehension and prosecution of offenders, and to safeguard public funds

Legal obligation

Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000, S. 26C
Receiving the results of data matching exercises from Audit Scotland carried out under the National Fraud Initiative To prevent and detect fraud, crime, to assist in the apprehension and prosecution of offenders, and to safeguard public funds

Legal obligation

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and supporting regulations
Using Council Tax information to identify and investigate potential fraud and to safeguard public funds To prevent and detect fraud, crime, to assist in the apprehension and prosecution of offenders, and to safeguard public funds

Legal obligation

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and supporting regulations
Using Council Tax information to validate, update and maintain up to date and accurate customer names and addresses and contact details across other Council departments and services To make sure we are using up to date and accurate names, addresses and contact details across Council services

Undertaking our public tasks as a Local Authority

Effective fulfilment of the Council’s statutory functions and powers

 

General Data Protection Regulation & Data Protection Act 2018

Best Value duty under Local Government (Scotland) Act 2003
Using information  provided by customers to assess applications for Disability Banding reduction Administration of  Disability Banding Reduction Undertaking our public tasks as a Local Authority (under Article 6), Substantial Public Interest (under Article 9) Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations, including the Council Tax (Reductions for Disabilities) (Scotland) Regulations 1992
Using information provided by customers to assess applications for exemption or discount due to severe mental impairment Administration of discount and exemption relating to Severe Mental Impairment Undertaking our public tasks as a Local Authority (under Article 6), Substantial Public Interest (under Article 9) Local Government Finance Act 1992 and supporting regulations
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