Council tax

Council Tax and Business Rates Privacy Notice

City of York Council (CYC) current data protection notification is registered with the Information Commission’s Office (ICO), reference: Z5809563.

We regularly review this privacy notice, and it was last updated in September 2026.

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

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when we process your information, and it applies to council tax and business rates services.

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 555719.

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

This privacy notice should be read in conjunction with other CYC privacy notices that are available in our Privacy Notice and/or CYC policies and procedures.

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

How we collect your information

We get information about you from the following sources:

  • directly from you
  • from third parties acting on your behalf such as family member(s), advocates, councillors, MPs
  • from other organisations and government departments such as Department for Work and Pensions, Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs, NHS and the police
  • from our commissioned partners or contractors who undertake work on our behalf
  • from other third parties such as letting Agents, solicitors, landlords, credit reference agencies

If you fail to provide certain information when requested, you may be committing a criminal offence, and we may as a result be prevented from complying with our legal obligations to administer and collect outstanding monies owed to the council. Similarly, in not providing your information you may find yourself subject to legal and debt recovery proceedings.

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What personal data we process and why

We will only process the information that is necessary such as:

  • name
  • contact details including phone number and email address
  • address and any previous addresses
  • employer details
  • income and expenditure details
  • bank details
  • household composition and circumstances
  • National Insurance Number (NINO)
  • property ownership details and details of other properties owned
  • tenancy information
  • medical information
  • health information
  • disability information
  • if you are in prison or on remand
  • your opinions, comments, and feedback when you choose to take part in our surveys and consultations; you can withdraw your consent to these at any time by contacting us on email: revenues@york.gov.uk

When we process information relating to criminal convictions and offences, this includes details of any past criminal convictions or offences.

When we ask for equalities, diversity and inclusion (EDI) information sometimes called “About you” information, this may include some or all of the following

  • age
  • gender
  • if the gender you identify with is the same as your sex registered at birth
  • how you think of yourself
  • religion or belief
  • ethnic group
  • if you consider yourself disabled
  • if you are a carer
  • if you have experience of being in care

EDI information is only used to help us understand the EDI makeup of our customers and will be anonymised which means it cannot be linked back to you or individuals.

We use your information for the purposes of

  • billing, collecting, recovery and enforcing council tax and business rates
  • checking ownership of properties
  • administering discounts and exemptions
  • referrals to welfare rights or debt advice if appropriate to do so
  • verifying your entitlement to council tax discounts, or to trace individuals who owe arrears.
  • verifying your personal and financial situation to ascertain your ability to pay arrears of council tax and business rates, including tailoring our recovery methods, where appropriate.
  • better tailoring our services to where they are most needed

When you complete an online form on the council’s website and you have provided your email address, we will send you a copy of your completed online form.

When you make an online payment on the council’s website, you can find details in the Online Payments Privacy Notice.

If you provide another person or organisation authority to discuss or to act on your behalf in council tax and business rates related matters, we may share information with them. In all cases we would require evidence that you had granted authority before any information is shared.

We have a statutory duty to check and review all council tax discounts to maintain accurate records. We carry out regular reviews of households claiming Single Occupancy Discount. We are supported in the Single Occupancy Discount review process by our partner company; Datatank.

We participate in the government’s National Fraud Initiative, a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. We are required to provide particular sets of data to the appropriate government department for matching for each exercise. This data may then be passed on to other public bodies to investigate any matches.

Where we have a lawful basis and it is appropriate to do so, we may record our communications (website, email, and phone conversations) with you. We will inform you if your call is being recorded and you can find more details about our call recording in the Call Recording Privacy Notice.

If attending a council site or attending an event at a council venue that is covered by our public space CCTV you can find details in the CCTV Privacy Notice.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to support or enhance council services. Where AI is involved in a process that directly affects your interaction with us, we will inform you before your user journey begins. This ensures transparency and helps maintain trust in how we use AI.

Our use of AI complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), including the principles of lawfulness, fairness, transparency, accountability, and accuracy. We conduct Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) where AI systems are likely to result in high risks to individuals’ rights and freedoms, such as automated decision-making or profiling.

If generative AI tools are used, we do not use personal or end-user data to train AI models. This helps ensure compliance with the purpose limitation and data minimisation principles under UK GDPR.

AI for Staff Productivity and Accessibility

Where AI tools are used solely by staff to assist with drafting, research, or accessibility - for example, to improve writing efficiency or summarise information - these uses do not form part of a business process that affects service delivery or decision-making. As such, no specific notification will be provided for these internal productivity uses.

These uses are considered low risk and do not involve automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects. They are also subject to internal governance and safeguards to ensure responsible use.

Examples include:

  • drafting internal reports or meeting notes
  • summarising lengthy documents for quicker review
  • assisting with spelling, grammar, or formatting tasks

We may use your information to create reports and statistics that are anonymous and cannot be linked back to you or individuals such as:

  • for statistical analysis
  • for statutory returns
  • for audit frameworks
  • to see how the council and its partners are supporting individuals
  • to help design better services
  • to inform funding decisions

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Automated decision-making

We do not carry out any automated decision-making without any human intervention in providing council tax and business rates services. This means that certain decisions are made automatically using your information, without human involvement.

You have the right to object to this type of processing and to request human involvement. To do this please contact us on email: information.governance@york.gov.uk.

Where we are required or permitted by law to process your information in this way, we may not always be able to comply with your request. If this is the case, we will explain our reasons to you.

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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, special category data and criminal offence data that we process about individuals is done so in accordance with one or more of the following Articles 6, 9 and 10 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 if you are a public authority processing data to perform your official tasks.)
  • Article 9(2):
    • (a) Explicit consent
    • (b) Employment, social security and social protection (if authorised by law)
    • (g) Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)

This is supported by Schedule1, Part 2 (6) of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the following legal framework:

  • Local Government Finance Act 1992
  • The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 (as amended)
  • Digital Economy Act 2017
  • Digital Government Regulations 2018
  • Local Government Finance Act 1988
  • Local Government Act 2003
  • Local Government Finance Act 2012
  • Localism Act 2011

Where we process information relating to criminal convictions, offences, alleged offences, court proceedings, investigations, or related security measures, it will only be where it is necessary and where we are authorised to do so by law and in accordance with Article 10 UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. This may be for the purpose of carrying out our statutory duties and powers, safeguarding children and adults, preventing and detecting crime or fraud, undertaking regulatory and enforcement activities, protecting the public, managing legal proceedings, or complying with legal obligations. Appropriate safeguards are applied to protect individuals' rights and freedoms, and access is limited to those who need the information to carry out their official duties.

Some of the Schedule 1 conditions for processing special category and criminal offence 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.

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How long we keep your personal data

We will only keep your information for as long as it is needed then it will be securely and confidentially deleted or disposed of.

You can find more details on how long the council keeps records in the council retention schedule.

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Data sharing

We will only share your information where it is appropriate to, with:

  • other CYC services
  • other councils, government departments and agencies
  • other organisations such as NHS and the police
  • third parties including our data processors, partners or contractors, who undertake work on our behalf
  • internal and external auditors
  • your employers, for the purpose of requesting an attachment to your earnings in the event of council tax debt.

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

When we have third parties providing parts or all of our services, systems, software, platforms, applications (apps) for us, we have contracts or agreements in place with them. These include:

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Transfers of personal data

We don’t routinely transfer personal data, special categories of personal data, special categories of personal data, or criminal offence 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 Commission'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 555719, 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 555719

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