North Yorkshire Community Awards 2023 terms and conditions

1. The promoter

1.1 The promoter is: North Yorkshire Council, Racecourse Lane, Northallerton, DL7 8AD - the "Promoter".

2. The competition

2.1 The title of the competition is the North Yorkshire Community Awards 2023 - the “Competition”.

2.2 The Competition recognises and celebrates voluntary work carried out by people and organisations across North Yorkshire.

3. How to nominate

3.1 The Competition will run from 20 April 2023 - the "Opening Date" - to 12pm on 11 June 2023 - the "Closing Date" - inclusive.

3.2 All nominations must be received by the Promoter by no later than 24:00 on the Closing Date. All nominations received after the Closing Date are automatically disqualified.

3.3 To nominate someone to be entered into the competition: 

  • choose a voluntary group or person that you feel has made a difference to their community through their voluntary work (a “Nominee”)
  • complete the online nomination form at www.northyorks.gov.uk/communityawards - paper forms are available on request if you are unable to complete the form online
  • for the avoidance of doubt, you may complete an entry form nominating yourself as a Nominee
  • it is the responsibility of all nominators to ensure that the nominee is aware of the nomination

3.4 The Promoter will not accept:

a) responsibility for nominations that are lost, mislaid, damaged or delayed in transit, regardless of cause, including, for example, as a result of any postal failure, equipment failure, technical malfunction, systems, satellite, network, server, computer hardware or software failure of any kind

b) proof of posting or transmission as proof of receipt of entry to the Competition

3.5 By submitting a Competition entry, you are agreeing to be bound by these terms and conditions.

3.6 Following an eligibility check, a minimum of three nominees per category will be shortlisted by a panel of judges including:

  • Chairman of North Yorkshire Council
  • Vice-Chairman of North Yorkshire Council
  • Head of Stronger Communities, North Yorkshire Council
  • Other employees of North Yorkshire Council
  • Representatives of voluntary and community sector

3.7 Shortlisting will be based on information provided in the nomination forms - the “Shortlisted Nominees”. The decision of the panel of judges, acting reasonably, will be final. Shortlisted Nominees will be notified by email by 30 July 2023.

3.8 Visits to, or virtual meetings with, the Shortlisted Nominees, where necessary, will take place by 30 September 2023, and as a result Finalists will be chosen.

3.9 Finalists will be invited to an awards ceremony at the North Yorkshire Wider Partnership Conference at the Pavilions of Harrogate, North Yorkshire Showground on the morning of Friday 27 October 2023 - the “Awards Ceremony”. Each Finalist shall receive three tickets to attend the Awards Ceremony.

3.10 In the event that a Finalist is unable to attend the Awards Ceremony, then they may - subject to giving the Promoter prior reasonable notice - nominate someone to attend the Awards Ceremony on their behalf - the “Nominated Representative”.

3.11 At the Awards Ceremony winners for each category will be announced. The decision of the panel of judges, acting reasonably, will be final. 

4. Eligibility

4.1 There are three categories for the 2022 North Yorkshire Community Awards.

  • best community group – awarded to groups carrying out voluntary activity/activities in North Yorkshire
  • volunteer of the year – awarded to individual volunteers carrying out voluntary activity/activities in North Yorkshire
  • caring for the environment: for groups who have demonstrated a commitment to delivering community based initiatives that protect, restore and enhance our natural environment, helping to tackle the causes and impacts of climate change or supporting nature to thrive

The criteria for the North Yorkshire community awards scheme 2023 are:

  • activities that have taken place or been completed from 1 May 2022 and 30 April 2023
  • nominations in all categories must have had a positive impact on people living in the North Yorkshire Council area
  • nominated community groups must be constituted, not for profit, and operate in the North Yorkshire Council area
  • community groups may be a branch of, or affiliated to, a larger regional or national organisation, as long as the volunteers started and developed the initiative for the activity locally, and the group's achievements go beyond what is expected of similar groups in the wider organisation's network
  • nominated individuals must volunteer within the North Yorkshire Council boundaries in the area of work for which they are nominated
  • self-nominations will be accepted
  • volunteers of all ages are eligible for nomination

4.2 The Promoter will not accept Competition entries that are:

(a) automatically generated by computer
(b) completed in bulk
(c) illegible, have been altered, reconstructed, forged or tampered with
(d) incomplete

4.3 The Promoter reserves all rights to revoke your entry into the Competition if either your or your Nominee’s conduct, is contrary to the spirit or intention of the Competition.

5. The prize

5.1 There will be one winner and two runners up for each category. 

5.2 Each winner will receive:

a) £1,000 paid electronically into the group's bank account or, in the case of individuals, to be donated to the local charity of the winner's choice

b) an engraved trophy and certificate

5.3 Each runner up will receive:

a) £250 paid electronically into the group’s bank account or, in the case of individuals, to be donated to the local charity of the runner up's choice

b) an engraved trophy and certificate

5.4 The Prize is not negotiable or transferable.

6. Winner announcement

6.1 The Winners and Runners Up of the Competition will be announced at the Awards Ceremony - Announcement Date.

6.2 The decision of the judges nominated by the Promoter is final and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into.

7. General

7.1 If there is any reason to believe that there has been a breach of these terms and conditions, the Promoter may, at its sole discretion, reserve the right to exclude your nomination from the Competition.

7.2 The Promoter reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend the Competition where it becomes necessary to do so.

7.3 These terms and conditions shall be governed by English law, and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

8. Data protection and publicity 

8.1 North Yorkshire Council is the ‘Data Controller’ as defined by Data Protection regulations. 

8.2 The Council has appointed Veritau Ltd to be its Data Protection Officer. Their contact details are:

Information Governance Office
West Offices
Station Rise
York
YO1 6GA

Phone: 01904 552943

8.3 The following personal information is collected:

  • name
  • address
  • email address
  • phone number
  • image - for nominations made by video and shortlisted nominations
  • bank account details - finalists only - constituted group only, not individual – for payment of prize monies

8.4 Personal information is collected as part of the nomination process to enable us to assess the nominations and to communicate directly with nominees and nominators. The contact details will be used to send letters and to arrange judging / videoing visits. Some information is used to promote the community awards.

8.5 The personal contact information will only be shared with the administrators, judges and photographer of the Competition. The administrators are North Yorkshire Council staff. The judges consist of Councillors, North Yorkshire Council staff and representatives of the voluntary and community sector. The photographer is contracted by North Yorkshire Council. The judges and photographer will not receive any personal contact data until visits have been confirmed. Initial judging decisions will not use any personal details other than name.

8.6 Nominees will need to agree that the Promoter may list their name and town of residence on the North Yorkshire Council website in relation to the Competition. Nominees will be asked to confirm their agreement.

8.7 Shortlisted Nominees and Finalists will need to agree that the Promoter may use their name, image and district of residence in connection with this Competition. Nominees will be contacted to confirm their agreement. 

8.8 Videos will be played at the awards ceremony and will be made available on the Council intranet and website. Participants in the videos will be asked for their consent.  

8.9 The table below sets out the retention period for the data. The retention period is from the closing date of the nominations.

Data held Retention period - from nomination closing date
Nominees Shortlisted nominees Finalists
Name Three months Six months Three years - finalists’ name will be kept for 3 years to enable the administrators of the Competition to ascertain eligibility for future awards.
Address, phone number, email Three months Six months One year
Full nomination forms Three months Six months Six months
Short description of reason for nomination - Six months
One year - shortlisted nominees who receive a highly commended certificate will have their details used for longer.
One year
Videos and photographs Three months Six months One year
Bank account details - groups only, no details held for individuals - - In line with Council’s financial policies and procedures 

8.10 For more information about how the Council uses your data, including your privacy rights and the complaints process, please see our corporate Privacy Notice.