Update cookies preferences

Rising waters | Rooted solutions

Ousewem Privacy Notice

We regularly review this privacy notice, and it was last updated in July 2026.

It provides details about the Ousewem project, which is funded by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as part of the £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programmes (FCIP) which is managed by the Environment Agency (EA). The programmes will drive innovation in flood and coastal resilience and adaptation to a changing climate.

This privacy notice should be read in conjunction with the other organisations' privacy information shown below. Each of the organisations involved in this project are the controller for your information and are committed to ensuring that your information is handled in accordance with the principles set out in data protection legislation and guidance from the Information Commission’s Office.

Specific privacy information, including details on the use of artificial intelligence (AI), including for staff productivity and accessibility, and details of the Data Protection Officer and ICO registration for each of the organisations in the Ousewem project can be found through the following links:

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
Cookies
Email
Unsolicited mail
Third parties

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 partners in the Ouswem project
from other organisations that refer you to Ousewem
from other organisations such as NHS and the police
from the commissioned partners or contractors who undertake work on behalf of the Ousewem partners

What personal data we process and why

We will only process your information that we need, and this may include your personal data and ‘special category’ data, such as your name, address, contact details.

We will use your information when you:

contact us for information
apply for a grant
subscribe to the Ousewem newsletter at City of York Council's Subscribe to email updates page. You can withdraw your consent or unsubscribe, at any time by submitting a request using our email updates system on the Subscribe to email updates page. You can also withdraw your consent by emailing: [email protected]

We will ask for your consent:

to take part in surveys, consultation or other events to get your feedback, about the service and support you have received
to take your photo, video and audio record. You can find more information about how the council uses photos, videos and audio recordings in the City of York Council Microsoft Office 365 (MS365) Teams Meeting recording and transcription privacy notice

You can withdraw your consent by contacting us on email: [email protected].

When we collect and use photos, images, or recordings, we will process the following personal and special categories of personal data:

your photograph or image, and/or;
audio recordings and/or;
video recordings
your name and contact details

We will use your photo, image or recordings in:

printed publications
case studies
council and partner organisations’ social media sites, which may include boosted posts to targeted interest groups on Facebook
press releases
our website - where relevant, our website content will be accessible internationally and may be used by national media
news media

Where we have consent to use images of children and young people, we will not use the name of that child or young person in the accompanying text or photo caption without good reason.

We may use group images of children and young people with very general labels. We will only use images of children and young people who are suitably dressed, to reduce the risk of such images being used inappropriately. We cannot film or take photographs of any child that is at risk or under a supervision order.

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.

When you complete an online form on our website and you have provided your email address, we will send you a copy of your completed online form.

If attending a City of York Council (CYC) site or attending an event at a CYC venue that is covered by our public space CCTV you can find details in the CCTV Privacy Notice.

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

Where we use automated decision-making to provide our services in the Ousewem project, it means that certain decisions are made automatically using your information, without human intervention.

You have the right to object to this type of processing and to request human intervention. To do this please contact us on email: [email protected].

Where we are required or permitted by law to process your information in this way, we may not always be able to comply with your request. If this is the case, we will explain our reasons to you.

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 or special category data that we process about individuals 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: you have given us clear consent to process your personal data for a specific purpose
- (c) Legal obligation: the processing is necessary for us to comply with the law (not including contractual obligations)
- (e) Public task: the processing is necessary for us 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 our 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
Article 9(2):
- (a) your explicit consent
- (b) Employment, social security, and social protection (if authorised by law)
- (g) Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)

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.

You can find these on each organisation’s website.

our Appropriate Policy Document provides further information about this processing by the council
DEFRA
Environment Agency
JBA Consulting
Natural England
North Yorkshire Council
University of York
Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust

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 this on each organisation’s website.

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 the 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 will always satisfy ourselves that we have a lawful basis on which to share the information and document our decision-making.

We do not pass or sell your information to third parties for marketing, sales or any other commercial purposes without your prior explicit consent.

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 the organisations in the Ousewem project have third parties providing parts or all of their services, systems, software, platforms or applications (apps), they have contracts or agreements in place with them, this includes:

Innovate Educate Ltd

You can find details on each organisation’s website:

Transfers of personal data

The organisations in Ousewem do not routinely transfer personal data, special categories of personal data or criminal offence data, outside of the UK but when this is necessary, they will ensure that they have appropriate safeguards in place and that it 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 Commission's Office website.

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: [email protected], or on telephone: 01904 555719, or write to:

Data Protection Officer
City of York Council
West Offices
Station Rise
York YO1 6GA

See the contact details for our project partners:

Cookies

By using our website you are consenting to certain types of cookie being placed on your device. See our Cookies Policy.

Where our website links to external resources or websites, these may add their own cookies. These are outside our control. Cookies can be disabled by changing the settings in your browser, but you may need to re-enter information at times.

Email

Emails that we send to you or you send to us, may be retained as a record of contact and your email address stored for future use in accordance with our record retention schedules. If we need to email sensitive or confidential information to you, we may perform checks to verify the correct email address and may take additional security measures.

Unsolicited mail

You will not receive unsolicited paper or electronic mail as a result of sending us any personal data while using our website, unless you have given us permission to do this.

Third parties

We do not pass personal data to third parties for marketing, sales or any other commercial purposes without your prior explicit consent.

If we have to share your personal data externally, we require any third party to comply with the principles of data protection legislation, and our procedures and instructions, when they use your information on our behalf.

Blue arrow pointing upwards