The ERO has the power to inspect to fulfill their duty.  Yes, they have a 

wide ranging power on a very narrow topic. 



Here is the url for the upload from the ICO

http://www.ico.gov.uk/documentUploads/The%20Right%20to%20Inspect%20Local%20Authority%20Records.pdf





As to the Council tax, it can be used for a variety of secondary uses, but 

these are circumscribed by law.  For example, and authority can use CT to 

track down its debtors.  However, a council cannot use the CT for a 

general information source.  The address change would occur when the 

person writes in or contacts the authority.  If this requires going 

through CT, then it would not be allowed. 



Joined up government is stymied if it has to go through CT, although the 

ICO has said that it might not be too bothered about pursuing this unless 

there are complaints.  I cannot find the upload on the ICO page, but I 

have a pdf that I downloaded from their site that covers this issue.



Here is the material cut from the pdf document



Legal Advice given to the Commissioner 

5. The advice given to the Commissioner is as follows: •



Local authorities are creatures of statute and, as such, must have 

specific statutory authority to use or disclose information acquired by 

virtue of their powers to charge and administer Council Taxes for any 

purpose. 



The scheme under which Council Tax is administered is set out in the LGFA 

and the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 19921 

(“the Regulations”). 



A Billing Authority (i.e. local authority) may make use of other 

information in its possession, except that held in its capacity as a 

police authority, together with information supplied by listing officers, 

precepting authorities, CCROs, EROs, the Commissioner of Births Deaths and 

Marriages, or the Commissioner General for England and Wales, and other 

authorities, for Council Tax purposes. However, any (page break)



FN (Council Tax: secondary use of personal information held for the 

collection and administration 1 SI 1992 No 613

August 2004)



p. 1



continued:

information so obtained may only be used or disclosed for Council Tax 

purposes, unless specific statutory authority exists that allows secondary 

disclosure or purposes. •



There is no power in the LGFA or the Regulations to make disclosures of 

personal data held for Council Tax purposes for other purposes. Paragraph 

17 of schedule 2 of the LGFA allows for regulations to be made for the 

supply of relevant information to any person who requests it for another 

purpose, but personal data is specifically excluded. 



6. Since no other uses and disclosures are permitted, the processing of 

personal data for any such other purposes (or to effect other disclosures) 

would thus be ultra vires. 



7. The Commissioner also received advice regarding the application of 

Section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972 to possible uses of data held 

for Council Tax purposes. This provides that: “a local authority shall 

have power to do any thing ... which is calculated to facilitate, or is 

conducive or incidental to, the discharge of any of their functions.” 



8. It has been suggested that this provision would sanction the use of 

data held for Council Tax purposes for some secondary purposes, 

notwithstanding the fact that the LGFA and the Regulations are silent on 

the matter. The Commissioner is advised, however, that this is an 

incorrect interpretation and that this Section does not allow the exercise 

of powers derived from one statute for another statutory function. In 

particular it would not allow personal data held for Council Tax purposes 

to be used as a resource for other local authority purposes, even given 

the consent of the Council Tax payer. 



9. Section 111 may, however, allow billing authorities, when advising 

Council Tax payers of how the local authority’s budget has been allocated, 

to promote other Council services and to inform them of benefits and other 

schemes of which they may wish to take advantage. 



10. In summary, the Commissioner’s response to enquiries about possible 

secondary uses of Council Tax data is that the only permitted uses and 

disclosures of data are those specified in the LGFA or the Regulations, or 

in other statutes regulating different Local Authority functions. Lawful 

Processing of Personal Data 



11. The first data protection principle2 requires that: Personal data 

shall be processed fairly and lawfully ... 



12. Supported by the Data Protection Tribunal, the Commissioner has taken 

the view that the lawful processing element of this principle will be 

breached if there is no lawful basis for the processing of personal data 

or if the effect any processing is to breach a legal obligation3. For 

public bodies such as local authorities a key question in considering 

compliance with the principle is whether or not they have the power, or 

vires, to carry out processing. Any processing which is itself ultra 

vires, or is carried out for a purpose which is (page break)



Footnote (2 Paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 

1998 



3 For a full account of the Commissioner’s position, you should read 

“Private Lives and Public Powers” published by the Commissioner in 1997. 

August 2004)



page 2



continued:

itself ultra vires, will necessarily breach the first data protection 

principle by virtue of the fact that it is unlawful. The Commissioner’s 

Enforcement Policy 



13. Breaches of the data protection principles are not criminal offences. 

However, where he considers that there has been a contravention of one or 

more of the principles the Commissioner does have the power to serve 

enforcement notices specifying steps to be taken to rectify the effect of 

the contravention and to prevent further contraventions taking place. 



14. Before taking enforcement action the Commissioner must consider all 

the relevant circumstances, which would include any consent given by the 

Council Tax payer to a secondary use of the data and whether there had 

been any damage or distress caused to data subjects. The Commissioner is 

not aware of any allegations of widespread or significant areas of 

complaint about, or abuses of, Council Tax data by local authorities. In 

view of that, he does not intend to follow this advice by a compliance 

investigation of authorities’ uses of Council Tax data. However this does 

not mean that he will not take enforcement action in this area, for 

example following a complaint from a data subject4. 



Conclusion 



15. The Commissioner recognises that the restrictive nature of the advice 

which he has received and of the difficulties which this may cause 

Councils. The Commissioner also recognises that the effect of this advice 

may run counter to the encouragement given to public bodies in the 

Modernising Government White Paper to share and make more effective use of 

information which they hold. He does, however, draw attention to the 

commitment in the White Paper to: “provide a proper and lawful basis for 

data sharing where this is desirable, for example in the interest of 

improved service or fraud reduction consistent with our commitment to 

protect privacy.” 



16. The Commissioner would therefore advise local authorities which wish 

to use personal data held for Council Tax purposes for a secondary purpose 

to make their representations for a change in the law to the government 

through the usual channels. 



17. While the Commissioner’s compliance staff will attempt to answer any 

practical questions which arise from this advice and which are not covered 

by the Annex, they will be unable to enter into more general discussion 

concerning the legal opinion received by the Commissioner which forms the 

basis of this advice. If authorities wish to make further legal points or 

raise other points for consideration, they are asked to do so in writing 

to the Commissioner’s Legal Department.  (page break)



Footnote 4 The Commissioner’s enforcement policy is set out in an 

Enforcement Statement which is available on the Information Commissioner’s 

web site



August 2004 



page 3







Hope this helps.



Lawrence





Lawrence W. Serewicz

Scrutiny Manager

Management Support Unit

Wear Valley District Council

01388-761-985