The Clean Air Zone (CAZ) privacy notice

This Clean Air Zone (CAZ) privacy notice supplements Newcastle City Council’s general privacy notice. https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/local-government/access-information-and-data/open-data/privacy-notice

This supplemental notice explains how the Council processes and shares your personal data for the purposes of the CAZ as joint data controller with the Secretary of State for Transport. The Secretary of State for Transport acts through the Joint Air Quality Unit (“JAQU”). JAQU is a joint unit of the Department of Transport (“DfT“) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (“DEFRA”) established to oversee the UK plan for tackling poor air quality ( Roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations).

 This CAZ privacy notice also contains information about how the Council will use personal data as an independent data controller to process applications for a Clean Air Zone grant to replace or retrofit a vehicles, and to issue and enforce a Penalty Charge Notice (“PCN”) for a CAZ contravention. For information on how JAQU processes and shares your personal data with organisations other than the Council please refer to JAQU’s own privacy notice. https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/no2ten/privacy-notice

Why is the Council collecting personal data?

To enable the Council to operate its CAZ, JAQU is delivering the CAZ Central Service, a digital service that allows the Council to:

  • determine whether a vehicle entering a CAZ is compliant with the CAZ Framework, and if the vehicle is not compliant, whether it is liable to be charged and, if so, how much:

  • check whether the correct charges have been paid for vehicles that enter the CAZ; and

  • provide a first point of contact for the resolution of queries and to support assisted digital users.

The CAZ Central Service also allows individual motorists and fleet operators to pay for entry into the CAZ.

The Council collects personal data to enable the Council to use the CAZ Central Service.

The Council also collects personal data:

  • to accept and process grant applications to assist in replacement of non compliant older higher polluting vehicles;

  • to request details of the registered keeper of the vehicle from the DVLA in order to pursue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN);

  • to share with third parties for appeals and enforcement of PCNs; and

  • to share with the police or security organisations if requested to prevent or detect crime.

How will personal data be used before the CAZ comes into operation?

The Council is required to test the performance of its systems before going live with the CAZ service. For this the Council will be provided with a sample of the DVLA’s vehicle records from 2010 which will be shared between the DVLA and the Council via JAQU. The records that are shared only include vehicle registration numbers (“VRNs”). This enables the system to be tested against expected performance under controlled volumes. This data is deleted once testing is completed.

If your vehicle travels in the CAZ, the Council’s ANPR cameras ( Supplied by Yunex as data processor for the Council)  covering the zone will record your VRN and the Council will pass that information to DVLA so that DVLA can undertake a matching exercise and determine whether your vehicle meets the compliant emission standards. If your vehicle does not meet these emission standards, DVLA will use your name and address held in their records with your VRN to send you an early notice letter on behalf of the Council, informing you that you will likely have to pay a charge if your vehicle travels in that area after Clean Air Zone charging starts.

Prior to commencement of the clean air zone owners of older high polluting vehicles may apply for a grant. Information provided as part of the grant process may be shared with an appointed finance provider who will manage the grant application process.  This information will be held on file until such time as financial arrangements / loan agreements are complete with the finance provider.

For the purpose of a grant application the Council may collect and subsequently share with a financial provider application details which would include:

  • First Name

  • Surname

  • Phone Number

  • Email address

  • VRN of existing and replacement vehicles

  • Copy of VC5 vehicle documentation

How will personal data be used once the CAZ is in operation?

If your vehicle enters the CAZ the Council will be using the Council’s automatic number plate recognition (“ANPR”) cameras to record your vehicle registration number (“VRN“) and the date that the vehicle enters the CAZ. The cameras will be supplied and operated by Yunex as a data processor for the Council.

Your VRN will also be collected by JAQU if you use the vehicle checker function on the Gov.UK website to check if you’ll be charged to drive in a CAZ.

JAQU and the Council treat your VRN as personal data.

For the purposes of the CAZ Central Service customer contact centre, through which you can make any enquiries concerning the operation of the CAZ, and to enable resolution of any queries you may have, JAQU and the Council may collect and use your:

  • First Name

  • Surname

  • Phone Number

  • Email address

  • VRN

If your vehicle enters the CAZ the Council will share the VRN and the date of entry with JAQU for the purpose of determining whether your vehicle meets the CAZ charging criteria and, if so, whether the relevant charge has been paid. JAQU will use the CAZ Central Service to provide the Council with details of your vehicle, whether a charge is payable and whether it has been paid.

If your vehicle is non compliant with emission standards and liable to be charged, and travels in the CAZ once it is in operation, you will be able to pay using a credit or debit card, or by Direct Debit. When you enter your bank account details or payment card details to make payment they will be processed through the CAZ Central Service (using GOV.UK Pay and GoCardless acting on behalf of JAQU, who will store the payment transaction).. As appropriate the Council may instruct GoCardless or GOV.UK Pay to refund payments to the account from which payment was made.

An email address will be requested from you to allow a payment transaction receipt to be sent by GOV.UK Notify or GoCardless. The Council will be sent confirmation of the payment including the VRN  that has been paid for. The payment information in the CAZ Central Service is matched by the Council with the VRN data captured from the ANPR cameras to check whether the relevant charges have been paid for vehicles which enter the CAZ.

The email content and email address are retained on the GOV.UK Notify platform for a limited period.

JAQU will retain your payment transactions for a period of 7 years in the CAZ Central Service. These include the VRN against which the payment is made. Business account users will be able to view their transaction payment history for up to 18 months from the longer of account creation or from when a payment is completed.

The  Council retain data relating to the issue of a Penalty Charge Notice and DVLA data is purged from the PCN database 6 months after the PCN has been paid or closed. DVLA data will be retained within the Council’s databases for any PCNs which remain actively being processed through the appeals or enforcement process.  

JAQU has security arrangements in place to ensure that only authorised personnel can access the data e.g. log into accounts for licensing authorities.

If you make a customer enquiry about the CAZ Central Service and JAQU needs the Council to help resolve the enquiry then JAQU will share details of your enquiry with the Council so that the Council can help to resolve it.

For the purpose of undertaking enforcement action following failure to meet a Clean Air Zone Charge the Council may collect and subsequently share with enforcement partners:

  • First Name

  • Surname

  • Phone Number

  • Email address

  • VRN of vehicle in contravention of the Clean Air Zone charge payment

  • Details of date and time of the contravention together with vehicle make model and colour.

Should a Penalty Charge Notice be issued following failure to meet the CAZ Charge details of the PCN will be held by the Council for up to 3 years following issue of the Notice following which they will be purged from the Council’s systems.

It may also be necessary to share information with the Police and/or other law enforcement agencies when requested for the purpose of crime prevention or detection.