Finance: payments and collections - privacy notice

Who we are

Derby City Council is the local government unitary authority for Derby vity. Our address is The Council House, Corporation Street, Derby, DE1 2FS. You can contact our Data Protection Officer on 01332 640763 or by email at data.protection@derby.gov.uk.

You can contact the departments on 01332 643194 or by email at debtors.finance@derby.gov.uk for collections or 01332 643185 or by email on accounts.payableenquiry@derby.gov.uk for payments.

How do we collect information from you?

We collect information from you when you visit www.derby.gov.uk, when you fill in any forms using our customer portals or on our website, including myAccount; also when you contact us in writing, speak to us on the phone, by email or any other type of electronic communication, or talk to us face to face. We may collect information from a setting you attend, such as a school or care home, where this data collection is necessary for the following purposes listed.

What types of information do we collect from you?

We collect different categories of information about you, depending on the service you want from us and/or the reason why we need to process information relating to you. This could be personal information (for example your name and address), or other more sensitive data that we would only collect and use in very particular circumstances that are set out in law.

Details of information obtained from third parties?

We do not obtain any information from external third parties.

What is the lawful basis?

The legal basis for data processing we are relying on comes from Article 6 of the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR). The following sections apply:

• (b) Contract: the processing is necessary for a contract you have with the individual, or because they have asked you to take specific steps before entering into a contract. This will only apply to individual contract i.e. contracts of employment and not other commercial contracts.
• (c) Legal obligation: the processing is necessary for you to comply with the law (not including contractual obligations).
• (e) Public task: the processing is necessary for you to perform a task in the public interest or for your official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law.

We process all information in accordance with our legal obligations and public tasks arising from the following provisions:

• Data Protection Act 2018
• UK GPDR 2021
• Local Government Acts 1972; 1998; 2000; 2003
• Audit Commission Act 1988
• Accounts and Audit Regulations 2011
• Localism Act 2011
• The Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) Regulations 2020

Other codes of practice:

• Authority’s Constitution Relevant Financial Regulations
• Best Value Accounting Code of Practice
• Service Reporting Code of Practice for Local Authorities
• CIPFA Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the UK
• CIPFA Code of Audit Practice
• The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Recovery ("the protocol") 2017.

How is your information used?

Collections services

• process raised invoices. Invoices are raised by various services across the Council, these services include but are not limited to:
  • Carelink
  • residential care services
  • rent
  • work carried out in default of provisions of various Acts of Parliament including Environmental Protection Act 1990; Housing Act 2004; Building Act 1984; Public Health Act 1936; Prevention of damage of Pests Act 1949.
  • permits and licences
  • course fees
• collect and allocate income
• recover outstanding debt by Council colleagues including Legal Services and debt enforcement agencies
• prevent and detect fraud
• determine affordable repayment amounts.

Payments

• process payments owed by the Council to individuals and organisations
• prevent and detect fraud.

Payments are processed by this team on behalf of a number of services across the Council. The types of supplier payments process include but are not limited to:

• utilities
• suppliers of goods and services
• foster carers
• residential care providers
• homecare providers
• direct payments
• property maintenance.

For more information on how each service uses your data please see our privacy notices.

COVID-19/Coronavirus

Coronavirus has been added as a notifiable disease under the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010. Under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 and associated Regulations; the Council has a legal duty to store, process and share personal information. The information will be stored, processed and shared as part of investigations into COVID-19 cases and outbreaks and issues of non-compliance with the acts and associated regulations. The information will also be used; interrogated and mapped to inform the Councils actions and decision-making processes. Any such storage, processing or sharing of information will be done in the public interest in order to promote health and wellbeing.

During the investigation of cases and/or outbreaks of Coronavirus, information which is gathered may be shared between departments within Derby City Council; with other Councils associated with an outbreak; other health services or with other government bodies associated with the control of the Coronavirus. The Council has a duty to notify national Government bodies, such as the UK Health Security Agency and the relevant local authority where an individual resides (if different), where there are suspected Coronavirus cases. The Council will disclose the information under Article 9(2)(j) of the UK GDPR (processing is necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as protecting against serious cross-border threats to health), and confidential information may be lawfully disclosed in the public interest, without consent, where the benefits to an individual or to society outweigh both the individual’s and the public interest in maintaining the confidentiality of such data.

The Council may contact staff, service users, residents, patients, businesses and premises with messages relating to Coronavirus by text, phone, letter or email. This contact is not direct marketing; therefore we do not need your Consent before contacting you. There is more information available on the Information Commissioners Office's website.

Research and statistics

Anonymised and pseudonymised data may be used for research and statistical purposes. Any data collected may be used for research and statistical purposes that are relevant and compatible with the purpose that the data was collected for.

Who has access to your information?

• Council Directorates
• National Fraud Initiative
• Debt Enforcement Agents
• HMRC – for VAT and CIS purpose only.
• Police – in relation to suspected illegal activities including Fraud
• Bank
• Supplier risk intelligence software
• BACs payment and Direct Debit processor.
• HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.

What are your rights?

• Access – you can request copies of any of your personal information that is held by the Council.
• Rectification – you can ask us to correct any incorrect information.
• Deletion – you can ask us to delete your personal information. The Council can refuse to delete information if we have a lawful reason to keep this.
• Portability – you can ask us to transfer your personal data to different services or to you.
• Right to object or restrict processing – you have the right to object to how your data is being used and how it is going to be used in the future.
• Right to prevent automatic decisions – you have the right to challenge a decision that affects you that has been made automatically without human intervention, for example an online form with an instant decision.

How long will we keep your information for?

We keep and dispose of all records in line with our record retention schedule. We will comply with Data Protection legislation.

What security precautions are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of your information?

We are strongly committed to data security and will take reasonable and appropriate steps to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or corruption. We have put in place physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard the information you provide to us. However, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us. We recommend that you take every precaution to protect your personal information.

Keeping your data up to date

We want to ensure any information we hold is accurate. You can help us by promptly informing us of any changes to the information we hold about you.

Under 13

If you are accessing online services and are under the age of 13‚ please ask for your parent/guardian's permission beforehand whenever you provide us with personal information.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files which identify your computer to our servers. They are used to improve the user experience. View what cookies we use and how you can manage them.

IP addresses

Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are collected when our site is used:

• for statistical/analytical purposes
• to identify any malicious activity.

Complaints

If you would like to make a complaint regarding the use of your personal data you can contact our Data Protection Officer:

• By post: Information Governance, Council House, Corporation Street, Derby, DE1 2FS
• By phone: 01332 640763
• By email: data.protection@derby.gov.uk

For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing issues, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

• By post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
• By phone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a national rate number

Alternatively, visit ico.org.uk or email casework@ico.org.uk.