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12 years 2 weeks ago #82852 by fairf
Subject Access Request was created by fairf
Is it normal not to receive an acknowledgement from the DWP with regard to a subject access request (SAR)?

I posted a SAR based on the template in your appeals guide to receive documents relevant to my migration to ESA WRAG after a medical. I addressed it to the manager named at the bottom of the ESA decision letter and used the address at the beginning of the ESA decision letter. I posted it 18/02/12 first class, so it should have arrived a couple of days later. I obtained a certificate of posting. So that is 3 weeks ago. I thought I read somewhere on the forum that someone received an acknowledgement for a SAR from the DWP, but I could not find the post. I was worried in case they had not received the SAR.

Today I rang the telephone number on the ESA decision letter, but it took almost 30 minutes to get through to a person and it turned out that she was in a call centre. She said there was nothing on her computer about the SAR. She said she would send an email (to the Benefit Delivery Centre I think) and that someone would phone me back in the next 5 hours, also that someone would try to phone me 3 times if necessary. However, I did not receive any calls from the DWP.

Do I have any cause for concern? Or do I just wait for another 4 weeks and, if I do not receive any documents, then send another SAR?

I had a meeting with a DEA at the local jobcentre about a different matter last week. This was not a work focussed interview. During the meeting the DEA told me about a date in July 2013 for me on the computer. It turns out that this date is exactly 18 months minus one day after I attended the Atos assessment in January 2012. Can I thus assume my ‘prognosis’ is 18 months? If it is, can I expect to receive another ESA50 form 3 months before that date, ie in April 2013?

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  • bro58
12 years 2 weeks ago - 12 years 2 weeks ago #82855 by bro58
Replied by bro58 on topic Re:Subject Access Request
fairf wrote:

Is it normal not to receive an acknowledgement from the DWP with regard to a subject access request (SAR)?

I posted a SAR based on the template in your appeals guide to receive documents relevant to my migration to ESA WRAG after a medical. I addressed it to the manager named at the bottom of the ESA decision letter and used the address at the beginning of the ESA decision letter. I posted it 18/02/12 first class, so it should have arrived a couple of days later. I obtained a certificate of posting. So that is 3 weeks ago. I thought I read somewhere on the forum that someone received an acknowledgement for a SAR from the DWP, but I could not find the post. I was worried in case they had not received the SAR.

Today I rang the telephone number on the ESA decision letter, but it took almost 30 minutes to get through to a person and it turned out that she was in a call centre. She said there was nothing on her computer about the SAR. She said she would send an email (to the Benefit Delivery Centre I think) and that someone would phone me back in the next 5 hours, also that someone would try to phone me 3 times if necessary. However, I did not receive any calls from the DWP.

Do I have any cause for concern? Or do I just wait for another 4 weeks and, if I do not receive any documents, then send another SAR?

I had a meeting with a DEA at the local jobcentre about a different matter last week. This was not a work focussed interview. During the meeting the DEA told me about a date in July 2013 for me on the computer. It turns out that this date is exactly 18 months minus one day after I attended the Atos assessment in January 2012. Can I thus assume my ‘prognosis’ is 18 months? If it is, can I expect to receive another ESA50 form 3 months before that date, ie in April 2013?


Hi ff,

The DWP are supposed to provide the information that you have requested in your SAR, within 40 days of receipt of the SAR. These are the rules under the Data Protection Act, please see information on the DWP webpage link below :

www.dwp.gov.uk/privacy-policy/data-protection/

You may wish to to chase this up in writing, altough the 40 day period does not seem to have elapsed yet.

If the DWP do not conform as above, you could make an official complaint, see :

Complaining to the DWP

You could also make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office, (ICO) see here :

www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/data_protection.aspx

With regards to the 18 months prognosis that you mention, the only way to be sure of this, is obtain copy of the ESA85, if you had a face to face assessment, or the ESA85A if you didn't, see :

ESA medical – what forms to ask for?

&

ESA Forms

It would be the norm to receive a new ESA50 some months before the expected date of your ESA WCA review, this would obviously be to allow for the time given to fill in and return the ESA50, (4 Weeks) and for the rest of the WCA process.

Of course you may have already requested the ESA forms mentioned above in your SAR. :)

bro58
Last edit: 12 years 2 weeks ago by bro58. Reason: Corrected DP link

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