City of York Council (CYC) current data protection notification is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – reference Z5809563. We regularly review the privacy notice for the Communications Team, and it was last updated in December 2024.
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 in the Communications Team. However, the information we will process about you will vary depending on why and how you are contacting or interacting with us, and the service or information you are requesting.
CYC is the controller for this information unless we specifically state otherwise in this privacy notice.
CYC is the controller for the personal data we process, unless otherwise stated. You can contact the council’s Data Protection Officer at:
West OfficesStation 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
- What personal data we process and why
- Automated decision-making
- Collecting information automatically
- Children's information
- Lawful basis for processing your personal data
- How long we keep your personal data
- Data sharing
- Data processors and/or third parties
- Transfers of personal data
- How we protect your information
- Your rights in relation to this processing
How we collect your information
We get your information from the following sources:
- directly from you
- from others on your behalf i.e., with your consent or permission
- when you attend an event, take part in surveys, consultation etc
- when you have consented for us to take your photo, video and/or audio recording
What personal data we process and why
We will process your personal and special categories of personal data such as:
- name
- address
- contact details i.e., phone and/or email address
- your comments, feedback and opinions if you take part in surveys, consultation etc
- your photograph/image
- audio recording(s)
- video recording(s)
We will use your information to provide the service or information you are requesting such as:
- managing, responding, and recording enquiries from businesses, media, and the public in general
- procuring services at the best price
- in partnership with third party operators, manage information to ensure the safe delivery of events and services
- conducting survey and consultations
- communicating with you on social media in line with the terms and conditions of those social media sites
- communicating with you about matters of public interest such as emergency situations affecting the city of York
- communicating with council staff about matters of interest such as emergency situations
- arranging and organising events
Where we have asked for your consent e.g., when you take part in surveys, consultation, events or we take photos, video, audio recordings etc, we will use your information in:
- printed publications,
- case studies,
- council social media sites, which may include boosted posts to targeted interest groups on Facebook. You can find out more about the use of social media by City of York Council, including an official list of sites
- press releases,
- our website City of York Council website home page. Where relevant, our website content will be accessible internationally and may be used by national media
- news media
It is your responsibility to let us know if you want to withdraw your consent. You can do this at any time, by email: communications@york.gov.uk, by telephone: 01904 552057 or by writing to:
Communications Team, City of York Council, West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO16GAWe will not:
- include details or full names (which means first name and surname) of any child or adult in an image on video, on our website, or in printed publications, without good reason. For example, we may include the full name of a competition prize winner if we have their consent
- include the full name of anyone used in promotional literature
- include personal e-mail or postal addresses, or telephone on video or on our website or in printed publications
We may also use the information we collect from you for reporting, research, and statistical purposes. When we do this, it will be anonymised which means the information will be turned into a form that does not identify individuals.
Automated decision-making
We do not carry out any automated decision-making without any human intervention in the Communications Team.
Collecting information automatically
Please see our Cookies Policy for further information about the information we collect automatically when you use our website.
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.
Where we have consent to use images of individual pupils, we will not use the name of that child in the accompanying text or photo caption without good reason. And if a pupil is named in the text, we will not use a photograph of that child to accompany the article without good reason. For example, we may include a picture and full name of a competition prize winner if we have their consent. However, we will not include a picture and full name of anyone used in promotional literature.
We may use group or class images of pupils with very general labels, such as “a science lesson” or “making Christmas decorations."
We will only use images of pupils who are suitably dressed, to reduce the risk of such images being used inappropriately.
We cannot film or take photographs of any child that is at risk or under a supervision order.
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).
- Article 6 (1):
- (a) Consent: the individual has given clear consent for the council to process their personal data for a specific purpose
- (c) Legal obligation: the processing is necessary for the council to comply with the law (not including contractual obligations).
- (e) Public task: the processing is necessary for the council to perform a task in the public interest or for our official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law
- (f) Legitimate interests: the processing is necessary for the council’s legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, unless there is a good reason to protect the individual’s personal data which overrides those legitimate interests. (This cannot apply where the council is processing data to perform our official tasks)
- Article 9 (2):
- (a) your explicit consent
- (b) Employment, social security, and social protection (if authorised by law)
- (e) Made public by the data subject
- (g) Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)
Some of the Schedule 1 conditions for processing special category data requires an Appropriate Policy Document (APD) to be in place, that 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.
How long we keep your personal data
We will only keep your information for as long as is necessary and then it will be securely and confidentially destroyed.
You can find more details about how long the council keeps records in the Council retention schedule.
Information you shared with us on social media is stored on those social media sites. You are advised to check the privacy notices or terms and conditions of your social media sites for more information.
Data sharing
We may share your information with other council departments, where necessary to:
- follow up a service request or complaint
- take other action requested by or agreed with you or where legal to do so
We will not pass on your information to any third parties for marketing, sales, or any other commercial purposes without your prior explicit consent.
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. Some of these records may include the personal data of our current and former employees. 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.
Data processors and/or third parties
Where we have data processors or third parties providing parts or all of our services for us, we have contracts or agreements in place with them. These include:
- where we use third parties to provide services such as photographers, videographers and media consultants
- social media usernames and correspondence, including any additional personal information you include in your social media correspondence with us (such as your address) may be shared with our social media management system suppliers (for example, PRGloo and Hootsuite) in the course of our using these systems
- where we use Microsoft Teams, to contact you, to gather information from you, or if we are recording or transcribing our discussion or meeting with you, we will let you know. You can find more details about this in the City of York Council Microsoft Office 365 (MS365) Teams Meeting Recording and Transcription Privacy Notice
- where we use SurveyMonkey for our surveys or consultation etc you can find out how they use your information in the SurveyMonkey Privacy Notice
- where we use Eventbrite for arranging and organising events etc you can find out how they use your information in the Eventbrite Privacy Policy
- where we use Delib’s CitizenSpace (digital citizen engagement platform) you can find out how they use your information in the Delib Privacy Notice
- where we use Granicus/Gov Delivery to send SMS text messages, you can find out how they use your information in the Granicus Privacy Policy
- Where we use Zimma Ltd trading as Ticket Tailor for arranging and organising events etc you can find out how they use your information in the Ticket Tailor Privacy Policy
Transfers of personal data
We don’t 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.
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
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 OfficerCity of York Council
West Offices
Station Rise
York YO1 6GA