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Income Services Privacy Notice

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 January 2026.

CYC is committed to ensuring that your information 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. It applies to Income 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 at information.governance@york.gov.uk or 01904 555719, or write to:

Data Protection Officer
City of York Council
West Offices
Station 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

We get information about you from the following sources, such as:

  • directly from you
  • from third parties acting on your behalf such as family member(s), advocates, and so on
  • from other organisations such as NHS
  • from our commissioned partners or contractors who undertake work on our behalf
  • prepaid card providers
  • Department of Work and Pensions (DWP)
  • His Majesty’s Revenues and Customs (HMRC)
  • HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS)

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What personal data we process and why

We process the following personal and “special category” data such as:

  • name
  • address
  • contact information including email and telephone number
  • gender
  • sex
  • date of birth
  • national insurance number
  • property information such as tenure and surveys
  • financial information such as; income, savings/investments and expenditure
  • bank details
  • disabilities and vulnerabilities
  • medical information
  • ethnicity
  • NHS number

Where we process data relating to criminal convictions and offences, this may include details of any past criminal convictions or offences.

Where you are acting on behalf of an individual we will collect:

  • name
  • contact details
  • date of birth
  • relationship to the individual and supporting evidence e.g. Lasting Power of Attorney

We will use your information for:

  • the purposes of conducting a financial assessment, billing, and collecting social care contributions. This includes contacting you to remind you of non-payment of social care contributions the purposes of assessing payments for looked after children
  • collecting payments to the council on behalf of other council services
  • ask for details of your bank when you want to pay for council services be Direct Debit
  • use your data to set up prepaid card accounts where you receive a direct payment, carer cash payments, payment for other council services, or welfare payments administered by the Council
  • if you have a prepaid card, authorised officers will be able to access transactional information relating to your account, to be able to assist you with queries you may have about your account and audit your prepaid account in line with our terms and conditions of payment.
  • provide benefits information and advice
  • identify entitlement to missing benefits or allowances
  • support vulnerable customers to complete application forms for benefits and allowances
  • determine possible eligibility for Deferred Payment Agreements.

If you choose to take part in our surveys or consultation, we will process your opinions, thoughts, and feedback about the service we have provided to you. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting: incomeservices@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

When you make an online payment you can find out what the council does with your information in our Online Payments Privacy Notice.

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 Income 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 you 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 legal frameworks, such as:

  • Care Act 2014
  • The Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014
  • The Care and Support and Aftercare (Choice of Accommodation) Regulations 2014
  • The Care and Support (Deferred Payments) Regulations 2014
  • The Care and Support (Direct Payments) Regulations 2014
  • The Care and Support (Children’s Carers) Regulations 2014
  • Social Security Act 1998
  • Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016

Where we process personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences, this is also under Article 10 UK GDPR that covers processing in relation to criminal convictions and offences or related security measures. In addition, section 11(2) of the DPA 2018 specifically confirms that this includes personal data relating to the alleged commission of offences, or proceedings for an offence committed or alleged to have been committed, including sentencing.

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 is necessary then it will be securely and confidentially deleted or disposed of. 

You can find details on how long the council keeps records at 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

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

We must protect public funds and may use information 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 information 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.

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 our services, systems, software, platforms, applications (apps) etc for us, we have contracts or agreements in place with them. Such as:

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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 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 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 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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