Who we are and how to contact us
We are the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham's Housing Benefits service.
Hammersmith & Fulham is the controller for the personal data we process. Our Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) registration number is Z5124889.
View the contact details for the Housing Benefit Service.
Or you can contact us by calling our Cost-of-Living team on freephone 0800 917 6994. The line is open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.
Please see your data rights for details on how to contact us to exercise your data rights. For example, this might be to access your data by making a subject access request (SAR). Or if you're unhappy with how we use your data or comply with your data rights, you can contact our data protection officer (DPO).
What we collect and process
We process data you've given us directly or data you have given us permission to access for the purpose of reviewing eligibility for and awarding you a crisis prevention fund payment or to signpost you or refer you to other support within the council which may be financial advice or support.
The purpose of the Crisis Prevention Scheme is to provide short-term financial help for H&F residents who are struggling with essential day-to-day living expenses such as paying for food and utility bills (gas and electricity).
In some cases, we can provide financial assistance for other essential household items such as white goods and furniture.
Collecting the following categories of personal data is necessary to ensure we are helping those who are most in need. The data is used to check proof of residency and for means testing.
The categories of personal data we collect:
- name
- address
- date of birth
- phone number
- email address
- ID such as National Insurance Number, benefit claim reference number or council tax reference l, home office
- household type – primary reason award is needed dependents, pensioner or disabled person
- summary of the reason for the award and the cause of hardship – this may include health and circumstantial information
- gender
- tenure
- 2 months of bank statements
- 2 months' pay slips or profit and loss accounts
- benefits claimed
- benefit calculator outcome
- employment status
- details of arrears and debt.
The legal basis for processing personal data
The lawful basis for processing personal data is set out in Article 6 of the UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) as follows:
6(1)(e) processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.
The processing of personal data is necessary to enable us to make consistent and accurate determinations relating to an assessment of a payment of a crisis prevention award.
The council has an obligation to ensure it has carried out the correct checks to ensure the fund is administered correctly. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is providing funding to London under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, to administer the fund and provide assistance to households most in need.
The council relies on Article 9(2)(b) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation to process your special category personal data:
9(2)(b) Employment, social security, and social protection (if authorised by law).
Additionally, the council relies on the Data Protection Act 2018 Schedule 1 part 1 condition 1 to process special categories of personal data - employment, social security and social protection.
The council will also undertake general data matching or data sharing in certain areas where necessary for the prevention or detection of crime (Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 2 Part 2, Section 2 - Crime and taxation: general).
The retention period
The data collected for the purposes of reviewing eligibility and awarding you a crisis prevention fund award, or signposting you to relevant council services will be retained for 7 years from the date that the scheme is closed.
You have the right to object to the:
- processing of your personal data for the purpose of the council and its partners reviewing your eligibility for and awarding you a crisis prevention fund award
- council using your personal data to signpost you or refer you to other support within the council for both financial or advice and support.
We will consider all objections on a case-by-case basis.
It will not be possible to award payments without processing your personal data for the Crisis Prevention Scheme and this means you will no longer be eligible for future awards of this support or be identified as potentially eligible for future support.
To register your objection please contact us using the contact details above.
Who we share your data with
We will share anonymised data with our internal Business Intelligence Team and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities when returning management information in relation to which categories of households have received funding and the reason for the award.
As your data is anonymised no personal data will be shared for these purposes.
We will share your personal data internally to check with our council tax records if you are the liable party for council tax purposes and we will also verify your entitlement if applicable, with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) regarding benefits you may be entitled to.
We will share your information internally with other service areas as outlined in our Benefits privacy notice.
Ascendant Solutions Limited
We are currently employing the services of a third-party organisation, Ascendant Solutions, to assist with the administration of the Crisis Prevention Scheme.
If you choose to apply for a financial award using our digital forms your personal data will be shared with Ascendant Solutions Limited who will complete an open banking check. This process will allow us to view your personal banking information to make the decision about awarding payments.
This process will only be initiated if you actively choose to apply using this method and involves no automated decision-making.
We will not transfer your personal data outside the EU or EEA.
What are your rights?
- The right to be informed (fair processing/privacy notices)
- The right of access (subject access requests (SARs))
- The right to rectification (have us change incorrect or incomplete data)
- The right to erasure (have us delete data)
- The right to restrict processing (restrict how we process data)
- The right to data portability (move data in electronic format)
- The right to object (object to how we process data)
- Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling
For more information on your rights and how to exercise them, please see your data rights – what they are and your data rights – how to exercise them.
Who to contact if you're unhappy about how we use your data or comply with your data rights
For who to contact if you're unhappy, please see your data rights – who to contact if you're unhappy.
Changes to this notice
If we make a big change to what personal data we process, how or why we process it, or who processes it we'll update this notice.
We may also contact you using other communication channels to make you aware of the changes.