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 the council’s green space tree planting.
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 via email information.governance@york.gov.uk or telephone 01904 555719, or write to:
Data Protection OfficerCity 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
- 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 about you from the following sources:
- directly from you
- from third parties acting on your behalf such as family member(s), advocates, councillors, MPs etc
- from our commissioned partners or contractors who undertake work on our behalf
What personal data we process and why
We will process the following personal data:
- your name
- your contact details
- relevant health information
- relevant disability information
- your comments, feedback and opinions if you choose to take part in our surveys, consultation etc
We will use your information to provide our tree planting in green spaces services.
If you have contacted the council via letter, we will transfer the information you have given us onto the council’s secure network and then destroy confidentially the paper copy.
As we are using the information you give us with your consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time by email: yorkgreenstreets@york.gov.uk.
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
Automated decision-making
We do not carry out any automated decision-making as part of this informal consultation.
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 to the council to process their personal data for a specific purpose
- Article 9(2)
- (a) explicit consent - the individual has given clear consent to the council to process their special categories of personal data for a specific purpose
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 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 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.
Data processors and/or third parties
When we have third parties providing parts or all of our services, systems, software, platforms, applications (apps) etc for us, we have contracts or agreements in place with them. These include
the council’s use of Microsoft 365 as its main operating system and platform. Read the Microsoft Privacy Statement alongside our contract with Phoenix Software Limited Data Protection | Phoenix Software
organisations to support the council’s corporate transformation programme such as Impower. Read the Impower Privacy Notice
- 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 at Privacy Notice | SurveyMonkey
- Zimma Ltd trading as Ticket Tailor for arranging and organising events etc. You can find out how they use information at Ticket Tailor Privacy Policy
- Eventbrite for arranging and organising events etc. You can find out how they use information at Eventbrite Privacy Policy | Eventbrite Help Center
- Delib’s CitizenSpace (digital citizen engagement platform). You can find out how they use information at Delib | Legal - Privacy Notice
- Granicus/Gov Delivery to send you updates, newsletters etc. You can find out how they use information at Privacy Policy | Granicus
- WhatsApp to contact you. You can find out how they use information at Privacy Policy - UK (whatsapp.com)
- Civica for online payments. You can find out how they use information at Data Privacy Notice | Civica
- The council’s use of Paygate for BACS for payments and collections - see Paygate Privacy Statement
- Microsoft forms as part of MS365 You can find out how they use information - see Microsoft Privacy Statement
- Veritau Public Sector Limited (VPS) who provides services to the council such as internal audit - see Privacy policy - Veritau
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 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 555719, or write to:
Data Protection OfficerCity of York Council
West Offices
Station Rise
York YO1 6GA