This Privacy Notice is regularly reviewed and may be updated or revised at any time. It was last updated in September 2025. It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes.
- Introduction
- What personal data do we collect?
- How we use personal data
- Legal Basis for processing
- Who do we share personal data with?
- How long do we keep personal data?
- Automated decisions
- Your rights
- Data Protection Officer.
Introduction
Our core data protection obligations and commitments are set out in Wigan Council Primary Privacy Notice.
This notice provides additional privacy information for Finance.
What personal data do we collect?
To carry out activities and obligations we process the following personal data:
- Name
- Title
- Address
- Telephone number
- Email address
- Date of birth
- Bank account details
- Your income and expenditure
- National insurance number and other employment and payroll information.
Where we manage someone’s affairs on their behalf, this may also include:
- Solicitors and court correspondence and documentation including Grant of Probate
- Birth certificate/death certificate
- Funeral plans
- Private pension information
- Financial assets.
We also process the following Special Category Data:
- Health in relation to Special Guardianship Orders and Direct Payment Awards.
How we use personal data
The main purposes for processing your personal data are:
- To maintain our accounts and records
- For budget management
- To make payments
- To issue invoices and recover debts
- To manage the financial affairs of vulnerable service users as a deputy or appointee
- For fraud prevention and detection
- To apply the breathing space scheme protections (where applicable).
Legal Basis for processing
The authority has a duty to protect the public funds it administers and may use information held about you for all lawful purposes, including but not limited to the prevention and detection of crime including fraud and money laundering.
The lawful bases we rely on for processing your personal data are:
- It is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Council
- It is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation
- It is necessary for the performance of a contract with you (e.g. you are a supplier of goods or services).
The legal obligations and official authority arise from the following (non-exhaustive) list:
- Local Government Act 1972
- Local Government Finance Act 1992
- The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015
- CIPFA Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in The United Kingdom.
The condition we rely on for processing your special category data is the provision of Health or social care.
Who do we share personal data with?
In addition to the general reasons for data sharing described in the Council’s Primary Privacy Notice, we collect from or share personal data with the following when required:
- Government Departments or Agencies, including but not limited to, His Majesty’s Court Service and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
- External Enforcement Agencies
- Office of the Public Guardian
- Internal Council departments
- Police
- Other local authorities
- Schools.
The Council is also required to share information about you and your debts with your debt advisor where you are registered with the Breathing Space scheme. For more information on the scheme, please visit debt respite scheme (breathing space) guidance for creditors (external link).
How long do we keep personal data?
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any future legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
We must continue to retain necessary data in accordance with our corporate records policy to fulfil legal, statutory and regulatory requirements.
Automated decisions
All the decisions we make about you involve human intervention.
Your rights
More information on how to seek advice to exercise your rights, raise a concern or complain about the handling of your personal data by the council can be found in at Wigan Council Primary Privacy Notice.
Data protection officer
If you wish to raise a concern or seek clarification about any aspect of this notice, please contact our Data Protection Officer. Please provide documents to prove your identity along with a description of your concern.
We will respond to all requests within one month.
If you are unhappy with the way that we handle your concern you may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) (external link).
Document information
Owner: John McDonald, Assistant Director, Finance
Author: John McDonald, Assistant Director, Finance
Version and date: V4.0, September 2025