City of York Council (CYC) current data protection notification is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – reference Z5809563. We regularly review this privacy notice, and it was last updated in August 2025.
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 process your information in York Crematorium services.
CYC is the controller for this information unless we specifically state otherwise in this privacy notice.
You can contact the council’s Data Protection Officer by email: information.governance@york.gov.uk, telephone: 01904 554145, or write to:
West OfficesStation Rise
York
YO1 6GA
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 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 information from the following sources:
- directly from you
- from third parties acting on your behalf such as family member(s), advocates, funeral directors, etc
- from our commissioned partners or contractors who undertake work on our behalf
What personal data we process and why
We will only process the information that is necessary such as:
- name
- address
- date of birth
- phone number
- email address
- date of death of the deceased
For medical certificates: we will collect and use doctors name, signature, qualifications, work address, work contact details, General Medical Council register number and name of anyone present at the time of death. We will also collect phone number if family member present, and work location if nursing staff present.
For CCTV: we will collect and use CCTV images only. There is no audio capture or recording from the CCTV in use at York Crematorium. You can find out more information about how the council uses CCTV in our CCTV Privacy Notice.
We use your information to provide York Crematorium services such as:
- Burial and Cremation Services
- grave sales
- memorial sales
- deliver the service or handle your query
- plan and improve the services we offer
- research, however, this would be in anonymised form unless we ask for your consent to use your personal information for this purpose
- evidence positive outcomes to central government funding agencies
- allow us to meet the legal requirements for the provision of burials, cremations and to manage, regulate and control memorials and cemetery grounds
- ensure that we can make sure we are giving the right level of support to you
We will also use your comments, feedback and opinions if you choose to take part in our surveys, consultation etc. You can withdraw your consent to these at any time by email: crematorium@york.gov.uk.
If you have completed a paper survey, once you complete and return it to us, we will transfer the information you have given us onto the council’s secure network and then destroy confidentially the paper copy.
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 at Online Payments Privacy Notice.
We may use your information to create reports and statistics that are anonymous and cannot be linked back to you, your family, or individuals such as:
- statistical analysis
- statutory returns
- audit framework
- see how the council and its partners are supporting individuals
- help design better services
- inform funding decisions
Automated decision-making
We do not carry out any automated decision-making in York Crematorium services.
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.
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 one or more of the following 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.
- (b) Contract: the processing is necessary for a contract the council has with the individual, or because they have asked the council to take specific steps before entering into a contract.
- (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)
- (h) Health or social care (with a basis in law
This is supported by Schedule1, Part 2 (6) of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the following legal framework:
- Burial Act 1857
- The Registration of Burials Act 1864
- The Cremation Act 1902, the Cremation Act 1952
- The Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984
- The Cremation (England & Wales) Regulations 2008
- The Cremation (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2017.
- The Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1977
- The Local Authorities' Cemeteries (Amendment) Order 1986
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.
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 details on how long the council keeps records in the Council Retention Schedule.
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
- third parties including our data processors, partners or contractors, who undertake work on our behalf
- funeral service providers (for example, funeral directors, memorial products and services providers, officiants, specialist funeral service providers etc)
- internal and external auditors
In some circumstances, such as under a court order or safeguarding, we are legally obliged to share information.
We will always satisfy ourselves that we have a lawful basis on which to share the information and document our decision-making.
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.
Data processors and/or third parties
Where we have third parties providing parts or all of our services for us, we have contracts or agreements in place with them.
- Cooperative Funeral Care and Life planning (for public health funerals) Privacy notice - Co-op Funeralcare
- 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
- SurveyMonkey for surveys or consultation etc. You can find out how they use information in the SurveyMonkey Privacy Notice
- WhatsApp to contact you. You can find out how they use information in the WhatsApp Privacy Policy
- Civica for online payments. You can find out how they use information in the Civica Data Privacy Notice
- Microsoft forms as part of MS365 You can find out how they use information in the Microsoft Privacy Statement
- Veritau Public Sector Limited (VPS) who provides services to the council such as internal audit. Read the Veritau Privacy policy
- Specialist or assistive systems, software, platforms, applications (apps) to help provide our services and support to you and our staff
- Where we provide information in British Sign Language via the City of York Council YouTube channel read the YouTube Privacy Settings and Google Privacy Policies
Transfers of personal data
We do not routinely transfer personal data or special categories of 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 Commissioners Office (ICO) for the public page.
You can also find information about your rights at 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 by email: information.governance@york.gov.uk or telephone: 01904 554145, or write to the:
Data Protection OfficerCity of York Council
West Offices
Station Rise
York YO1 6GA