Children and families

Early Help 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 personal data 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 our Early Help services including the supporting families programme; the Best Start Family Practitioner team services and how we work with our partners across the city.

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 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 members, advocates, councillors, MPs
  • from other organisations and our commissioned partners, partner agencies or contractors such as;
    • schools
    • childcare providers and settings
    • NHS, Health providers (including GPs, midwives, Health Visitors, substance misuse and mental health services); health services
    • police
    • voluntary or charity organisations
  • from government departments or agencies such as Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), Department of Education (DfE), Probation Services

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What personal data we process and why

We will only process your personal data and special categories of personal data that is necessary to provide our services to you, such as:

  • your name
  • contact details
  • relevant information about any members of your household who will be in receipt of the support

Where we process data relating to criminal convictions and offences, this may include 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 will use your information to:

  • provide our Early Help services including the supporting families programme
  • provide the Best Start Family Practitioner team services
  • ensure that services and practitioners understand how they can best help you.
  • help inform what services and interventions require commissioning across the City of York to support families and communities
  • to see how the council and its partners are supporting individuals
  • to help design better services

You can withdraw from our services at any time by email: supportingfamilies@york.gov.uk, or through your named lead worker.

The delivery model for Early Help in York involves partner organisations, agencies and services working together to provide the right help at the right time by working to the 4 principles of:

  1. A whole family assessment.
  2. An action plan.
  3. A named lead worker.
  4. Being fully informed.

The support you receive may include an assessment of need, targeted support based on the need within your family and signposting to other relevant support that may help you.

We will ask for your consent:

You can withdraw your consent at any time by email: supportingfamilies@york.gov.uk.

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.

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 (AI)

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 in providing our Early Help services including the supporting families programme and the Best Start Family Practitioner team services.

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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 and criminal offence data that we process about individuals is done so in accordance with one or more of the following Article 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
    • (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:

  • Working together to safeguard children 2023.
  • The Education Act 2011
  • Children Act 1989
  • Children Act 2004
  • SEND Code of practice
  • Early Years Statutory Framework
  • Crime and Disorder Act 1998
  • Offender Management Act 2007
  • Domestic Abuse Act 2021
  • Domestic Abuse Act 2021

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 about 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 such as Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), Department of Education (DfE), Probation Services
  • other organisations, commissioned partners, partner agencies or contractors such as:
    • schools
    • childcare providers and settings
    • NHS, Health providers (including GPs, midwives, Health Visitors, substance misuse and mental health services); health services
    • police
    • voluntary services, charity and community organisations (such as Citizen’s Advice, domestic abuse services, victim support services)
    • local housing providers (Home Group, York Housing Association, Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust)
    • community and voluntary Services (such as Citizen’s Advice, domestic abuse services, victim support services)
  • internal and external auditors

In some circumstances, such as under a court order or safeguarding, we are legally obliged to share your 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.

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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. These are:

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Transfers of personal data

We do not routinely transfer 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 it 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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