nosy councils

[vicious_sid]

Having recently been made unemployed I've been filling in the mandatory housing benefit forms. One part of this that makes me feel uncomfortable is the councils "right" to access my bank details. Does the council require a reason to access my account ie. suspicion of benefit fraud etc or can they just carry out checks to look for suspected fraud.
Although I've declared my millions :) I feel very uncomfortable about the idea of people having unrestricted access to my account

[seatrout]

I think a lot of benefits are paid into a bank account these days, so maybe it has something to do with that. I'm not sure that giving them details of your account will allow them to access the account or get any information from your bank. But in general I agree with you we are asked to provide far too much personal information these days

[joko]

they are not allowed to access your bank account - only you are and that is why there are all kinds of passwords etc.
no bank will discuss any thing with them

they will only want it to pay the money into.

[vicious_sid]

joko can you reveal your source on that

[joko]

personal experience.

you try phoning a bank and asking for details for someone elses bank account... see how far you get when you say you are not the person.

you can tell them you are whoever you like, but unless you have the passwords etc they won't speak to you.

i have also received housing benefit and dole a few times and neither contacted my bank.
( they will ask for a recent bank statement to prove you are not earning)

[Loosehead]

joko is correct, they just want your details to pay the benefits into. They may ask for information for means testing etc but not for access. I work for a major bank and I can tell you councils have the same chance as the local hobo of accessing your account.

[zimzam]

I had exactly the same trouble and I contacted The Human Rights for advice - here was their reply (its long but worth a read)

[zimzam]

Human Rights and Privacy



When the state (including the local authority) wants to collect personal information about individuals, the right to private life as protected by human rights legislation becomes relevant. In particular, Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which was incorporated into UK law by the Human Rights Act 1998, protects the right to respect for private and family life. This right is qualified, which means that it can be interfered with by the state in certain limited circumstances. In particular, any interference needs to promote a specific legitimate aim.
In other words, a restriction on the right will only be compatible with the Convention if it is aimed at protecting one of the interests set out in Article 8(2), namely national security, public safety, the prevention of crime, the economic wellbeing of the country, the protection of health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. The interference must be properly regulated by the law and must be �necessary in a democratic society�. This latter concept means the interference with the right must be a proportionate response to the legitimate aim. If the aim can be achieved by a less intrusive method then that method must be used instead.

Under the HRA, public authorities must act in a way which is compatible with the Convention rights. While the primary duty on the state articulated in Article 8 is to refrain from interfering with an individual�s right to respect for his or her private and family life, a positive duty may also arise, namely, a duty to take action to ensure that Article 8 rights are effectively protected.

[zimzam]

In your particular case while the retaining of information about your finances engages your right to privacy, the local authority is likely to be able to avoid any suggestion of incompatibility with the HRA by arguing that the scheme is necessary for the economic well-being of the country and to prevent crime (i.e. to prevent benefit fraud); and that you need not give over your personal details if you do not apply for benefits. However if your claim for benefits has already been processed and you have been told you are not entitled to any benefits then the local authority would need to provide another reason for requesting the information. I am not sure from your email whether you perhaps have an outstanding claim for housing benefit? Or it may be possible that the local authority is looking into a claim that you made in the past?


If you are not making any benefit claims, I would advise you to write to the local authority and ask why they are requesting this information from you and what steps they intend to take if you do not provide it. If you do not receive a satisfactory response, you can make a complaint to the local authority. If this does not resolve the matter, you can contact the local government ombudsman (www.lgo.org.uk). If you require further advice on the matter, you can find details of your local citizen�s advice bureau at www.citizensadvice.org.uk and details of solicitors specialising in this area of law at www.clsdirect.org.uk.

[zimzam]

Data Protection Act

You might also inquire as to whether the local authority is complying with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). The DPA provides a right of access to personal information about any person held by public authorities and private bodies, regardless of the form in which it is held. It also requires those holding personal data about a person to explain why they are holding that data and to tell the person to whom else the data may be disclosed. For further information about the DPA implications of the situation you describe and for a preliminary view on whether it complies with the requirements of the DPA, you could contact the Information Commissioner at the following address:


Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow, Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Information Line: 01625 545 745



I hope you find this information useful and wish you the best of luck in resolving this matter. Thank you for contacting Liberty.



Yours sincerely

[bednobs]

it is not mandatory to apply for housing benefit, yif you are not happy with the detail that they need in order to pay it to you, then just dont apply!

[themas]

This is really quite simple. Housing Benefit is means tested and the Council has a statutory duty to check that the information you are giving on the claim form about your savings is correct. One of the ways of doing that is to ask you for statements for all your bank and savings accounts. They can also use these to check that the amounts of money going into the accounts tie up with what you have declared. As has been said, this is an anti-fraud checking process. They do not have the ability to get any information direct from the bank.

[froggequene]

....I share your discomfort at sharing bank details but one of the Councils I worked for regarded electronic transfer between bank accounts as the quickest & most efficient of moving money and keeping records.