Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Support privacy notice

This Privacy Notice should be read in conjunction with Colchester City Council’s Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Notice should be read in conjunction with Colchester City Council’s Privacy Policy.

Information we collect

We collect and process personal data needed to administer Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support. This may include:

  • your name, and the name of your partner and children, if applicable
  • your date of birth, and the date of birth of your partner and children, if applicable
  • nationality
  • income details, including wages, self-employed income and expenditure, state benefits and other non-earned income for you, your partner and non-dependants, where applicable
  • savings details for you, your partner and non-dependants, where applicable
  • your address, including the date you moved in or moved out
  • email address
  • telephone number, including landline or mobile
  • information about your student status
  • your landlord’s name, if you are claiming Housing Benefit
  • your rent account reference, if you are a Colchester Borough Homes tenant
  • your rent, if you are claiming Housing Benefit
  • your Housing Benefit entitlement, if you are claiming Housing Benefit
  • your Council Tax liability, including your Council Tax account reference, if you are claiming Council Tax Support
  • your Council Tax Support entitlement, if you are claiming Council Tax Support
  • the reason a claim was rejected, if your circumstances clearly prevent entitlement
  • the amount of any outstanding Housing Benefit overpayment

Who we may share your information with

We may share your information with:

  • Department for Work and Pensions, including the Pension Service
  • His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
  • Police
  • Valuation Office Agency, for rent officer referrals
  • Vigilant, Essex County Council
  • other local authorities, for example to recover an overpayment on their behalf or discuss a claim
  • National Fraud Initiative, run by the Cabinet Office
  • NHS Fraud
  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
  • collection agents
  • other Colchester City Council departments, including Revenues, Overpayment Recovery, Elections, Planning, ICT, Colchester Borough Homes, Private Sector Housing and Housing Options
  • landlords, where we need to confirm tenancy details, rental charges or rent arrears
  • LoCTA

Why we use your personal data

The lawful basis for processing your personal data is legal obligation.

Colchester City Council needs this information to administer the Housing Benefit scheme under regulations brought in by the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992.

Your information is stored securely in MRI Revenues and Benefits, our preferred revenues and benefits software management system.

How long we keep your information

We have records relating to Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Support dating back to 1 January 1991.

We keep these records for 40 years from the date a claim is closed.

You have the right to contact us and ask for your information to be removed where there is no obligation or statutory requirement for it to be kept.

To ask for your information to be removed, email benefits@colchester.gov.uk.

Health Partnerships and Wellbeing

From 1 July 2026, Health Partnerships and Wellbeing will move to Colchester Borough Homes.

This includes welfare benefits, discretionary fund payments, financial support and employment support.

You can view information for this service on the Colchester Borough Homes data protection and privacy page.

How we protect and store your personal data

We take the confidentiality of personal information very seriously. We use recognised security and access controls to protect your information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or corruption.

We have procedures and processes in place to make sure your personal information is managed appropriately.

Your information may be held outside of the UK. Where this is the case, we make sure additional measures are in place to protect your data and comply with data protection requirements.

Updates to this privacy notice

We will review and update this privacy notice to reflect changes in our processes and procedures, and to comply with changes in the law.

When changes are made, we will update the “last reviewed” date on this notice.

We encourage you to review this notice regularly to stay informed about how we protect your information.