City of York Council (CYC) complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), reference: Z5809563.
We created this privacy notice in August 2025 and we will keep it under regular review.
We regularly review this privacy notice, and it was last updated in August 2025.
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 Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
This Privacy Notice explains how and why we process your information, under Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 for law enforcement purposes and the steps we take to keep your information safe.
CYC is the controller for the personal data we process, unless otherwise stated. You can contact the council’s Data Protection Officer at:
West OfficesStation Rise
York
YO1 6GA
Telephone: 01904 554145.
Email: information.governance@york.gov.uk.
You can find more information about the role of the Data Protection Officer in our Data Protection Policy Statement.
This privacy notice should be read in conjunction with other relevant specific privacy notices that are available in our Privacy Notice.
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
- 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 your information when you start a petition or if you sign a petition.
What personal data we process and why
If you are the petition organiser, we will process your:
- name
- address
If you sign a petition, we will process your
- name
- address or email address
- signature if it is a hard copy petition
- where required, electoral registration number
We use your information to:
- administer petitions in line with the council constitution and legislation
- facilitate the management of petitions
- support public engagement in council business and participation in decision making
- keep in contact with the petition organiser to make appropriate arrangements to host and respond to the petition
- check that responses meet the criteria of the petition scheme (requiring name, address/email address and signature)
Personal information will be removed and only the number of signatories and subject of the petition will be included, where petitions are
- shared with relevant council services and Councillors
- considered at a council meeting and included with the agenda paperwork
- shared with third party organisation where the subject matter of the petition relates to their activities to respond to the petition
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 our petitions services or scheme.
Collecting information automatically
Please see our cookies page 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 is done so in accordance with one or more of the following Articles 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
- (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
Article 9(2)
- (a) Explicit consent
- (g) Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)
This is supported by Sch.1, Part 2 (6) of the Data Protection Act 2018 and legislation such as:
- Local Government Act 1972,
- Local Government Act 2000
- Localism Act 2011
- Local Government and Housing Act 1989
- Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
- Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009
- The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014
- The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012
- The Local Authorities (Referendums) (Petitions and Directions) (England) Regulations 2000
- The Local Authorities (Referendums)(Petitions)(England) Regulations 2011
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 more details about 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
- 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 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.
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:
- Modern.gov (Civica UK Ltd) provides the council's e-petition platform. You can find out how they use your information in the Civica Privacy Notice
- Zoom Pro or Business version of Zoom (version 5), to host some public facing meetings, training sessions across different services in the council. Where these meetings are recorded, recordings will be kept locally on our server and will not be retained by Zoom. You can find out how they use your information in the Zoom Compliance Information
- 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 our surveys or consultations. You can find out how they use your information in the SurveyMonkey Privacy Notice
- WhatsApp, to contact you. You can find out how they use your information in the WhatsApp Privacy Policy
- Microsoft Forms, as part of MS365. You can find out how they use your information in the Microsoft Privacy Statement
- Veritau Public Sector Limited (VPS), who provides services to the council such as internal audits. You can find out how they use your information in the Veritau Privacy Policy
- other specialist or assistive systems, software, platforms, applications (apps), to help provide our services and support to you and our staff
- YouTube, where we provide information in British Sign Language via the City of York Council YouTube channel, please read YouTube Privacy Settings and Google Privacy Policies
Transfers of personal data
We do not routinely transfer personal data and 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 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 554145, or write to:
Data Protection OfficerCity of York Council
West Offices
Station Rise
York YO1 6GA