We keep the Customer Service Privacy Notice under review. It was last reviewed and updated in August 2022.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice contact the council’s Data Protection Officer.
View the Privacy information for all of the City of York Council (CYC).
- personal data
- collecting personal data
- using personal data
- our legal basis for using personal data
- sharing personal data
- retaining personal data
- further processing of personal data
- your rights relating to personal data
Personal data
Our Customer Service department will collect personal data about you when you contact us and this privacy notice explains how we use your personal data.
This table illustrates which customer service departments and contact methods are covered within this privacy policy.
| Service area | Phone contact | Face to face contact | Email contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator switchboard | Yes | No | No |
| Council Tax | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Housing Benefit | Yes | Yes | No |
| Parking | Yes | Yes | No |
| Planning | Yes | No | No |
| Concessionary travel | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Register Office | Yes | No | No |
| Electoral services | Yes | Yes | No |
| Waste, highways and environmental services | Yes | No | Yes |
See further details about how we define personal data and non-personal data.
Collecting personal data
The amount and type of personal data Customer Services collects from you when you contact us will depend on:
- why you're contacting us
- how you're contacting or interacting with us
- the service or information you're requesting
This could be for any of the services listed in the table, or if you contact us when you're:
- requesting information
- applying for a service
- telling us your circumstances have changed
- reporting a problem
- booking a service or an appointment for a service
- making a payment
This may simply mean providing your name and address but for some services we'll need more details.
Sometimes we'll require sensitive personal data or special categories of personal data, for example if you're applying for an assisted waste collection, we may need information about your health.
We'll only ask you for the personal data that's necessary to provide you with the service you're contacting us about.
If you don't provide the personal data requested we may not be able to
- provide you with the information you need
- make the application for a service you require
- notify a service that your circumstances have changed
- report the problem you want to tell us about
- book the service or make an appointment for the service you require
- make a payment
Using personal data
The personal data you give us will be used by Customer Service Representatives to:
- provide you with the information you've requested
- make an application for the service you've requested
- update internal systems to ensure our records remain accurate and up to date with any new information you provide
- inform services to respond to a problem you've reported
- book an appointment with the required service
Our legal basis for using personal data
Customer Service uses your personal data because you're asking us to do something on your behalf.
We may not be able to do what you've asked us to do if you don't provide us with your personal data and use it as described in this Privacy Notice.
Sharing personal data
We'll share personal data about you with other council services in order for them to:
- provide you with the information you've requested when the information is not available to the Customer Service Representative
- make a decision on your application for the service you've requested
- confirm to you that changes to your personal data have been updated
- respond to the problem you've reported
- prepare for your appointment with the required service
Other council services that Customer Services may share your personal data with have their own Privacy Notice.
View our Service Privacy Notices.
We will share your information with services who offer social welfare support, information and advice where we have your explicit consent to do this. For example, other council services e.g. Benefits & Contributions Advisors, Local Area Coordinators and external organisations such those listed below.
We refer to appropriate local advice and support organisations, including partner organisations listed on our websites:
- benefits advice on the council website
- money and benefits advice on Live Well York
You can find out more about what advice and support organisations will do with your information by viewing their privacy notices available on their websites.
Sharing data under Data Protection legislation
We may be required or permitted, under data protection legislation, to disclose your personal data without your explicit consent, for example if we have a legal obligation to do so, such as for:
- law enforcement
- fraud investigations
- regulation and licensing
- criminal prosecutions
- court proceedings
We must protect public funds and may use personal data and data-matching techniques to detect and prevent fraud, collect taxes and ensure public money is targeted and spent in the most appropriate and cost-effective way. To do this, your personal data may be shared with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds, including the Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs, the Police and other local authorities.
Your personal data will only be shared with someone we know is acting on your behalf when we have your prior consent to do this.
Retaining personal data
Customer Service will keep your personal data for 12 months years after your last enquiry with us is closed.
This means if we don’t hear from you in that time period, we'll delete your personal data from the customer service system.
At the end of the retention period, we may pass any relevant information to the City Archives where it is required or appropriate to do so.
Further processing of personal data
If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Privacy Notice or by another Service Privacy Notice, then we'll provide you with a new notice.
The new notice will:
- explain this new use before we start the processing
- set out the relevant purposes and processing conditions
Where and whenever necessary, we'll seek your consent to the new processing, if we start to use your personal data for a purpose not mentioned in this Privacy Notice.
Your rights relating to personal data
When we collect your personal data we'll tell you how we are going to use it. Where we process your personal data, you have a number of rights under data protection law.
See further details of your rights relating to personal data.