Investigations, personal information & SARS ?

Hi
A slightly condensed question focus which you may be able to help with:

a) Can Atos request a routine DWP investigation of your claim during the assessment period ?
If so and where no fuller action or investigation is found necessary:
b) Am i entitled to request copies of documents generated during a DWP investigation such as 3rd party shared data they acquired as well as any internal reports which constitute the investigation ?
c) Would i be expected to request data gathered as part of a DWP investigation under this circumstance through the SARS request pathway or does it require a different pathway such as a specific written request addressed to the data protection officer for example ? I'm a bit confused on the legal specifics of how they are required to keep records associated with investigations in relation to records which form my claim. None of my previous SARS requests contained any record of checks on third parties such as banks for example.

Thanks for your consideration of this issue.

n

nicholson wrote: Hi
A slightly condensed question focus which you may be able to help with:

a) Can Atos request a routine DWP investigation of your claim during the assessment period ?
If so and where no fuller action or investigation is found necessary:
b) Am i entitled to request copies of documents generated during a DWP investigation such as 3rd party shared data they acquired as well as any internal reports which constitute the investigation ?
c) Would i be expected to request data gathered as part of a DWP investigation under this circumstance through the SARS request pathway or does it require a different pathway such as a specific written request addressed to the data protection officer for example ? I'm a bit confused on the legal specifics of how they are required to keep records associated with investigations in relation to records which form my claim. None of my previous SARS requests contained any record of checks on third parties such as banks for example.

Thanks for your consideration of this issue.

n

Hi n,

"a) Can Atos request a routine DWP investigation of your claim during the assessment period ?"

I am not at all sure what type of "investigation" you are referring to here.

When a SAR is made, you must specify what information, within certain dates you are actually requesting.

Of course, one could request all personal information held between any two start/end dates.

SAR :

SAR Form Download

From this page :

DWP Data Protection Policy

www.ico.org.uk/for_the_public/personal_information

bro58

bro58 wrote: I am not at all sure what type of "investigation" you are referring to here.

Can Atos request/ refer your claim for investigation by the DWP FIS or SFIS as part of it's assessment of your ESA50 ? The DWP FIS/SFIS run routine checks for fraud or failure to inform of a change in circumstance in order to establish if a further investigation is required. Preliminary routine checks can involve acquiring records held by third party organisations as well as invasive procedures such as being put under surveillance to verify your current level of claimed disability.

My concern is where applicants like myself need to re-apply for ESA on multiple occasions over long time spans, it could be seen to be in the interests of Atos to utilise DWP FIS or SFIS investigation capabilities to act as a more probing form of assessment. Effectively they might work to an unofficial policy of automatic referral to the FIS/SFIS after a certain number of re-applications in order to bypass the limits of their own assessment capabilities.
I was concerned to know if this was a practice Atos was known to routinely apply to re-applicants of benefits they are powerless to deny entitlement and where i understood the Atos contract awards higher sums of payment based on their ability to move people away from benefit ?

n

nicholson wrote:

bro58 wrote: I am not at all sure what type of "investigation" you are referring to here.

Can Atos request/ refer your claim for investigation by the DWP FIS or SFIS as part of it's assessment of your ESA50 ? The DWP FIS/SFIS run routine checks for fraud or failure to inform of a change in circumstance in order to establish if a further investigation is required. Preliminary routine checks can involve acquiring records held by third party organisations as well as invasive procedures such as being put under surveillance to verify your current level of claimed disability.

My concern is where applicants like myself need to re-apply for ESA on multiple occasions over long time spans, it could be seen to be in the interests of Atos to utilise DWP FIS or SFIS investigation capabilities to act as a more probing form of assessment. Effectively they might work to an unofficial policy of automatic referral to the FIS/SFIS after a certain number of re-applications in order to bypass the limits of their own assessment capabilities.
I was concerned to know if this was a practice Atos was known to routinely apply to re-applicants of benefits they are powerless to deny entitlement and where i understood the Atos contract awards higher sums of payment based on their ability to move people away from benefit ?

n

Hi n,

I am not aware of any such referral process by ATOS to the DWP FIS that is done on a routine basis to deny claimants an award of ESA.

ATOS only provide "Medical Services" to The DWP.

One could surmise that the scenario that you pose could occur infrequently where a claimant was found to have capabilities that far exceeded the capabilities stated by the claimant .

I feel however, that it would be most difficult to prove "Fraud", and have not read of this happening on this or any other forums that I visit.

That, of course, does not mean that it has never happened.

bro58

Hi n,

Can I just clarify that long term ESA claimants do not have to reapply for ESA, they are reassessed at regular intervals at the behest of The DWP.

This is the whole ethos of ESA, even though it may be considered a waste of time and money for claimants with progressive, long term, chronic medical conditions, with little or no prospect of improvement

How often will I be reviewed

All ESA claimants are on the same "Merry-go-round".

bro58