Data Protection in relation to Benefits
Data Protection, in relation to Benefits
The Data Protection Act 1998 is designed to protect you.
You are entitled, on making a written request, to be given any data we hold about you although we may charge for giving you this information. We may pass the information we hold about you to other agencies or organisations such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) but only if allowed by law, we will also check the information you give us against other information we might already have.
We will not give information about your claim for benefit unless;
- You have given us your written consent
- You have an appointee acting on your behalf
- You have asked for your benefit to be paid direct to your landlord
If you have asked for payment of benefit to go direct to your landlord we will tell them:
- If we are still waiting for further information from you
- The date your benefit starts and ends
- The weekly amount of benefit
- The dates of payment
- If your claim is suspended
- If you request that future payments be sent to you
We will not give your landlord personal information such as your income, your age or details of your family.
If Housing Benefit payments are being sent to you, no details of your claim will be given to your landlord unless you have given us permission to speak to them.
If you think that we have given anybody any information about you that we are not allowed to, please tell us. Give us as much detail as you can and we will investigate your complaint.
Data Protection and National Fraud Initiative
Swale Borough Council takes its obligations under the Data Protection Legislation very seriously and will not disclose information to any unauthorised person. Information may be shared with other services within the Council or disclosed to other Local and Public Authorities or Government agencies that have a legitimate reason to request the disclosure. The Council is under a duty to protect the public funds that it administers and to this end, it may use the information that you have provided for the prevention and detection of crime and / or fraud, including the supply of information to Experian, a Credit Reference Agency and the Audit Commission for the purpose of data matching in order to conduct checks on undeclared cohabiters and other forms of benefit fraud. It may also share this information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds for these purposes.
