SDA-ESA: My journey has begun

Winterchild,

I’m keeping everything crossed whilst jotting down a few points for a SAR. All documents related to the eventual decision, good or bad, are invaluable.

Mari

An SAR? I've forgotten what that particular acronym means - could someone enlighten me, please?
Thanks.

An SAR is a 'subject access request'

www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-r...personal-information

Thanks. Acronyms can be handy, but there's just so many of them these days!

An update with questions:

On 6 August, Atos returned my file to the DWP with a recommendation. This was a very short time after I’d posted my ESA 50. The pace at which tings moved without the need for a face-to-face assessment gave me hope… possibly false hope.

This morning my carer phoned the DWP on my behalf to find out whether a decision had been made. My carer waited 50 minutes to get through to a sharply-spoken individual who seemed to know very little about the migration process. She was put on hold before being connected to another person. It was then confirmed that my file had been received but that a decision had not been made. The person would not say when my case will be dealt with. The call took over an hour and I think my carer found it harder than she expected.

1. Is there a DWP policy regarding the length of time between an Atos recommendation and the DM’s conclusion?
2. I’m wondering whether to submit a SAR for the Atos recommendation and any other paperwork available at this stage. Would such a move be advisable at this stage? Which documents would be available to me?
3. If things drift on, I would prefer a paper-trail to further phone calls. To whom within the DWP can a claimant write about this issue?

Thanks,
Mari W