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Guidance

Access to information and individual rights under UK data protection legislation privacy notice

Updated 15 September 2026

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2026

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england-privacy-notices/access-to-information-and-data-subject-access-requests-privacy-notice

Who collects your personal data

The data controller is Natural England at:

Foss House, Kings Pool, 1-2 Peasholme Green, York, Y01 7PX

Send questions about how Natural England uses your personal data and your associated rights to the Natural England Data Protection Manager at foi@naturalengland.org.uk or:

Natural England, Foss House, Kings Pool, 1-2 Peasholme Green, York, Y01 7PX

The Data Protection Officer for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) group is responsible for checking that Natural England complies with legislation. You can contact them at DefraGroupDataProtectionOfficer@defra.gov.uk or:

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, SW Quarter, 2nd floor, Seacole Block, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF

What personal data’s collected and how it’s used

With access to information requests, Natural England processes:

  • your name
  • your contact details
  • your request
  • data that you volunteer
  • data that we discover on our systems

With individual rights requests under UK data protection legislation, Natural England uses the personal data on your request form to:

  • check your identity so it can process your request
  • review the details of your request and determine which individual right applies
  • search its systems and records to identify relevant personal data
  • assess whether the request can be fulfilled in line with data protection legislation
  • correct, delete, restrict, transfer, provide access to, or stop processing personal data where appropriate
  • review any concerns relation to automated decision-making or profiling where applicable
  • record and manage your request, including any correspondence about it
  • inform you of the outcome of your request and any actions taken

With access to information requests, the legal basis for processing your personal data is to meet legal obligations placed on Natural England as the data controller. These are the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and the Freedom of Information Regulations 2000.

With DSARs, the legal basis for processing your personal data is to meet legal obligations placed on Natural England as the data controller. These are the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).

The processing of your FOI, EIR or individual rights request under UK data protection legislation is not based on your consent and is carried out to comply with our legal obligations.

If you wish to withdraw your request, please contact foi@naturalengland.org.uk.

Please note that any processing already undertaken before your withdrawal request cannot be undone.

Who Natural England shares your personal data with

Natural England shares your personal data with:

  • relevant teams within Natural England – in order to obtain information you have requested
  • the Information Commissioner’s Office – where requested by them to carry out their statutory duties
  • law enforcement agencies – when we can lawfully do so for the prevention and detection of crime and fraud

Natural England respects your personal privacy when responding to access to information requests. It only shares information when necessary to meet the statutory requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

How long Natural England holds personal data

If you make an access to information request, Natural England will keep the records for 7 years after the request has been closed.

If you make an individual rights request under UK data protection legislation, Natural England will keep the request records for 3 years after it has been closed. Your name and the date of your request in any associated complaint will be kept for 7 years.

What happens if you do not provide the data

Natural England will not be able to process your request for information or provide you with your personal information in response to an individual rights request under UK data protection legislation.

Use of automated decision-making or profiling

The information you provide is not used for:

  • automated decision making (making a decision by automated means without any human involvement)
  • profiling (automated processing of personal data to evaluate certain things about an individual)

Transfer of data outside of the UK

Natural England will only transfer your data to another country that is deemed adequate for data protection purposes.

Your rights

Find out about your individual rights under the UK GDPR and the DPA 2018.

Complaints

You have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office at any time.

Natural England’s personal information charter

Natural England’s personal information charter explains more about your rights over your personal data.

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