Taxi and Private Hire Licensing 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 March 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 process your information, and it applies to Taxi and Private Hire Licensing.

CYC is the controller for this information unless we specifically state otherwise in this privacy notice.

CYC is the controller for the personal data we process, unless otherwise stated. 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 other organisations, government departments etc when we acquire evidence as part of an application or investigation
  • when we survey our customers

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What personal data we process and why

We process your personal data, special categories of personal data and data relating to criminal convictions and offences such as:

  • name, contact details, national insurance number
  • medical details including information about your health from your GP or specialist
  • criminal record details
  • passport details
  • tax check code
  • immigration status and duration in and out of the UK
  • right to work details
  • photograph and date of birth
  • past name / address and taxi trade history
  • driving licence details
  • reference details
  • vehicle details:
    • history of purchase, start and expiry date of a licence, vehicle plate number, vehicle registration number, whether vehicle is private hire or hackney carriage, whether vehicle is wheelchair accessible
  • name of drivers authorised to drive a licenced vehicle
  • private hire business details including staff details
  • driver, vehicle, and operator insurance details
  • driver, wheelchair, and driver training day test results
  • complaints history including committee and court reports
  • your opinions, thoughts and feedback on our services and policies

We will ask for your consent:

We collect and use your information to:

  • assess your suitability and fitness to be issued with a taxi or private hire licence and to assist us in managing your licence
  • contact you in relation to your licence(s)
  • complete any required checks for example, medical checks, criminal record (DBS) checks and DVLA checks. This includes when we must update these checks.

We publish a taxi licences register on the City of York Council’s website which shows private hire operators / drivers / vehicles details including name, business address and telephone number, start and end date of their licence, and licence number.

We may also contact you with updates on our services, and/or to take part in surveys/consultations where you have given us your consent to do so. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting licensing@york.gov.uk. If you complete a paper survey, once you complete and return it to us, we will transfer the information you have given us onto the council’s secure network and then destroy confidentially the paper copy.

The information we collect may be included in presentations, statistics, and reports. Any presentations, reports and statistics for publication or use outside of the authorised council staff, will be anonymised, and cannot be linked back to you or individuals. Reports containing anonymous information may also be shared with the public and other organisations.

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 on the council’s website, you can find details at Online Payments Privacy Notice – City of York Council

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 Taxi and Private Hire Licensing services

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Collecting information automatically

Please see our cookies page 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 Article 6, Article 9, and Article 10 of the UK GDPR and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).

The legal basis for processing your personal data is in accordance with one or more of the following:

  • Article 6(1)(a) Consent: the individual has given clear consent for the council to process their personal data for a specific purpose.
  • Article 6(1)(c) Legal obligation: the processing is necessary for the council to comply with the law (not including contractual obligations).
  • Article 6(1)(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 6(1)(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
  • Article9(2)(b) Employment, social security, and social protection (if authorised by law)
  • Article 9(2)(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 the following legal framework:

  • Local Government (Miscellaneous) Provisions Act 1976
  • Town Police Clauses Act 1847 & 1889
  • Transport Act 1985, 1991
  • Equality Act 2010
  • Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994
  • Immigration Act 2016
  • Deregulation Act 2015
  • The Air Quality (Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles Database) England Wales Regulations 2019
  • Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Act 2022

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

  • information held in respect of a licence - 6 years after the date from which the licence ceases to be held
  • information received as part of an enforcement investigation – for a minimum of 6 years and then for only so long as may be necessary to inform a decision to protect the public
  • information held on the National Anti-Fraud Network NAFN (NR3S) database will be held for a period of 11 years

You can find details on how long the council keeps records at Council retention schedule – City of York Council

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Data sharing

We will only share your information where it is appropriate to, with:

  • other CYC services if the law requires us to do so for example:
    • Purpose of administration
    • Regulations
    • Law enforcement
  • other councils, government departments and agencies such as:
  • 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
  • the National Anti-Fraud Network NAFN as part of the national database of taxi and PHV driver licence refusals, revocations and suspensions (NR3S); for more information, please read the NAFN’s online Privacy Policy.
  • the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs DEFRA as required by The Air Quality (Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles Database) (England and Wales) Regulations 2019. The information we are required to share with DEFRA includes Vehicle Registration Mark, the start and expiry date of the vehicle licence, whether the vehicle is a taxi or PHV, the name of the licensing authority, the licence plate number, and an indication of whether it is a wheelchair accessible vehicle. Read DEFRA's Privacy Notice for more information.
  • City of York Councillors who sit on the Council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee where we refer your application or licence (in the case of a review) to the Committee for determination.

Your application will also be made publicly available when your application goes to Licensing and Regulatory Committee, the details of your application are made publicly available so that the decisions the council makes are open and transparent. Some personal information, such as criminal conviction, is not made publicly available, however Committee Members will have that information to enable them to make a decision on your licence application or licence or both.

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

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

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Transfers of personal data

We don’t routinely transfer 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.

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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

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