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Environment and animals

York Air Quality Forecasts and Alerts Privacy Notice

City of York Council (CYC) current data protection notification is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – reference Z5809563. We created this privacy notice in September 2023 and will regularly review it.

CYC is committed to ensuring that personal data is handled in accordance with the principles set out in data protection legislation and guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when we collect personal information about you. It applies to the York Air Quality Forecasts and Alerts.

CYC is the controller for this information and Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants (CERC) Ltd provides the York Air Quality Forecasts and Alerts service on behalf of the council and is the registered personal data ‘processor’, ICO reference: Z9799094.

CYC is the controller for the personal data we process, unless otherwise stated. You can contact the council’s Data Protection Officer at:

West Offices
Station Rise
York
YO1 6GA

Telephone: 01904 554145.

Email: information.governance@york.gov.uk.

This privacy notice should be read in conjunction with other relevant CYC privacy notices and/or policies and procedures.

When appropriate we will provide a ‘just in time’ notice to cover any additional processing activities not mentioned in this document.


How we collect your information

We get information about you:

  • when you subscribe to receive air quality alerts
  • if you choose to take part in the annual subscriber survey

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What personal data we process and why

We process the following personal and special categories of personal data:

  • email address
  • telephone number
  • postcode (optional)
  • year of birth (optional)
  • health conditions (optional)

We will use your information:

  • to deliver the alerts to you
  • for statistical purposes to improve the service
  • to contact you by telephone, email or post for follow-up surveys to help us improve the service (if you gave consent when subscribing)

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Automated decision-making

We do not carry out any automated decision-making without any human intervention in providing this service.

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Collecting information automatically

Please see our Cookies Policy for further information about the information we collect automatically when you use our website.

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Children’s information

Where we provide services directly to children or young people, the information in the relevant parts of this notice applies to children and young people, as well as adults.

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Lawful basis for processing your personal data

Any personal data including special category data that we process about individuals is done so in accordance with Article 6 and 9 of the UK GDPR and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).

The legal basis for processing your personal data is in accordance with the following:

  • Article 6(1)(a) – consent
  • Article 6(1)(f) – Necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by the controller or a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests, rights or freedoms of the data subject

The legal basis for processing your special category data is in accordance with the following:

  • Article 9(2)(a) – consent

Some of the Schedule 1 conditions for processing special category data require an Appropriate Policy Document (APD) to be in place, which sets out and explains the procedures for securing compliance with the principles in Article 5 and policies regarding the retention and erasure of such personal data. This document explains this processing and satisfies the requirements of Schedule 1, Part 4 of the DPA 2018 and supplements this privacy notice. Our Appropriate Policy Document provides further information about this processing.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by email: yorkforecasts@cerc.co.uk.

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How long we keep your personal data

We will retain your information while you are subscribed to receive air quality alerts and for up to 13 months after you unsubscribe, which could be for any of the above listed reasons.

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Data sharing

In some circumstances, such as under a court order or safeguarding, we are legally obliged to share information. We may also share information about you with third parties including our data processors, government agencies and external auditors.

We will always satisfy ourselves that we have a lawful basis on which to share the information and document our decision-making and satisfy ourselves we have a legal basis on which to share the information

Additionally, we are required under the Public Records Act 1958 (as amended) to transfer records to the City or National Archives (TNA) for permanent preservation. Full consideration will be given to Data Protection and Freedom of Information legislation when making decisions about whether such records should be open to the public.

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Data processors and/or third parties

We are working with Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants (CERC) Ltd to provide the York Air Quality Forecasts and Alerts service.

We will only exchange your information with third parties when this is necessary in order to deliver the air quality alerts. This may include transferring data outside the EU to the following services:

  • Mailchimp - our chosen email automation platform
  • MessageBird – our chosen platform for SMS text message and voicemail automation

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Transfers of personal data

We do not routinely transfer personal data outside of the UK but when this is necessary, we ensure that we have appropriate safeguards in place and that is done in accordance with the UK data protection and privacy legislation.

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How we protect your information

We're committed to keeping your information safe and secure. There are several ways we do this, such as:

  • IT security safeguards such as firewalls, encryption, and anti-virus software
  • on-site security safeguards to protect physical files and electronic equipment
  • training for all staff and elected councillors
  • policies and procedures

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Your rights in relation to this processing

To find out about your rights under data protection law, you can go to the Information Commissioner's Office website.

You can also find information about your rights in our Privacy Notice.

If you have any questions about this privacy notice, want to exercise your rights, or if you have a complaint about how your information has been used, please contact us on email: information.governance@york.gov.uk, or on telephone: 01904 554145, or write to:

Data Protection Officer
City of York Council
West Offices
Station Rise
York YO1 6GA

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Also see

Data Protection Officer

West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA

Telephone: 01904 554145