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Guidance

Customer service privacy notice

Updated 20 October 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/customer-service-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

Natural England collects your:

  • name
  • contact details
  • email address
  • phone number
  • details and information relating to your enquiry, complaint or feedback
  • relevant application or reference numbers depending on the reason for your enquiry, complaint or feedback
  • social media handle
  • voice recording
  • video recording for equality and accessibility

Natural England’s calls through the Enquiry line are recorded. Details of how this recording is used is provided to you at the start of your call. Call recordings are retained for a maximum of 6 months and written information we receive is retained for 3 years after your last interaction with us.

We may record video interactions, including those involving British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation, to support accessible communication.  Recordings will only be retained for the purposes of interpretation. They will not be held beyond 6 months.

You may choose to provide us with what is called Special Category Data should you believe it to be relevant to your contact with us, this may include one or more of the following:

  • racial or ethnic origin
  • political opinions
  • religious or philosophical beliefs
  • trade union membership
  • genetic data and biometric data (when used for identification)
  • health data
  • sex or sexual orientation

Natural England collects your personal information in order to identify you, investigate the issues or concerns raised and contact you in relation to your enquiry, feedback or complaint. This information can be collected by a telephone call, in writing or other accessible format. We may use details already stored in our systems, together with your feedback, to understand more about your experiences as a customer About our services - Natural England - GOV.UK

There is no legal requirement for processing and retaining your personal data for Natural England. The processing of your personal data is based on your consent.

You can ask for your contact details to be removed at any time by emailing our enquiries team at enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk or the complaints team at customer.feedback@naturalengland.org.uk.

However, if you do this, Natural England may not be able to investigate your enquiry or complaint and provide you with a full and final response.

The processing of your personal data is based on consent. When you submit an enquiry or a complaint to Natural England, you consent to the processing and retention of your personal data in line with our data retention policy.

Who Natural England shares your personal data with

We will usually need to share your enquiry or complaint with the relevant teams within Natural England, this may also include your personal information.

We may also need cross-government involvement to fully investigate the issues. In these cases, Natural England will share anonymised personal details with the relevant government organisation or body.

Natural England may be asked to share your personal details during this investigation. If so, we will contact you for authorisation before disclosing them.

If you’ve exhausted Natural England’s complaint procedure and are dissatisfied with the outcome, you may escalate your complaint to the following bodies:

  • The Public Service Ombusdman
  • The Office for Environmental Protection
  • Information Commissioner’s Office

In these cases, Natural England has a legal duty to share your personal details and any relevant information it holds in relation to the complaint with these organisations when requested.

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

Natural England will keep your personal data for 3 years after the closure of your last interaction with us. If your complaint is investigated by The Office for Environmental Protection or The Public Service Ombudsman, it will retain your data for 6 years.

Call recordings are retained for a maximum of 6 months.

What happens if you do not provide the data required

If you do not provide your personal data, Natural England may not be able to investigate your enquiry or complaint and may not be able to provide you with a full and final response.

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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