Daily living - Activity 1: Preparing food
Activity 1 considers a claimant’s ability to prepare a simple, cooked meal for one from fresh ingredients. It is not designed to assess a claimant’s culinary skills, but to assess the impact of any impairment on their ability to perform the tasks required to prepare and cook a simple meal.As with all the other activities, a claimant is to be assessed as satisfying a descriptor only if they can do so reliably.
Descriptors
The descriptors for Activity 1 are -
- Can prepare and cook a simple meal unaided. 0 points
- Needs to use an aid or appliance to be able to either prepare or cook a simple meal. 2 points
- Cannot cook a simple meal using a conventional cooker but is able to do so using a microwave. 2 points
- Needs prompting to be able to either prepare or cook a simple meal. 2 points
- Needs supervision or assistance to either prepare or cook a simple meal. 4 points
- Cannot prepare and cook food. 8 points
Source: Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013 (SI.No.377/2013), and Part 2 of Schedule 1 to SR.No.217/2016 in Northern Ireland.
NB - in Scotland, adult disability payment is replacing personal independence payment and the descriptors are found in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Scotland) Regulations 2022 (SSI.No.54/2022).
Definitions
Terms used in the PIP descriptors are defined in regulations and, in relation toActivity 1,are-
- “aid or appliance” - (a)means any device which improves, provides or replaces [the claimant's]impaired physical or mental function; and(b)includes a prosthesis;
- “assistance” means physical intervention by another person and does not include speech;
- “cook” means heat food at or above waist height;
- “prepare”, in the context of food, means make food ready for cooking or eating;
- “prompting” means reminding, encouraging or explaining by another person;
- “simple meal” means a cooked one-course meal for one using fresh ingredients;
- “supervision” means the continuous presence of another person for the purpose of ensuring [the claimant’s] safety;
- “unaided” means without -(a) the use of an aid or appliance; or (b) supervision, prompting or assistance.
Source: Regulation 2of and Part 1 ofSchedule 1 to the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013 (SI.No.377/2013), andregulation 2of andPart 1 of Schedule 1toSR.No.217/2016in Northern Ireland.
See also DWP guidance on Activity 1 in section 2.3 of the Personal Independence Payment assessment guide for assessment providers.
NB - in Scotland, adult disability payment is replacing personal independence payment and the definitions are found in regulation 2 ofand Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Scotland) Regulations 2022 (SSI.No.54/2022). See also Social Security Scotland guidance in Daily living component activity 1 for ADP – preparing food.
Case law
Commentary: The caselaw for Activity 1 has formed a consensus that it is a notional 'simple meal' test whichassesses the claimant's physical and mental capacity to cook, not whether they do so. Factors such as dietary requirements ([2017] UKUT 358 (AAC)), cultural or religious requirements ([2016] UKUT 572 (AAC)) or the personal conditions of the claimant ([2017] UKUT 317 (AAC)) are not relevant.|Add commentary or suggest an edit.
- Unless claimants are unable to stand safely for more than a few minutes when preparing and cooking a meal, they are unlikely to reasonably require a perching stool as an aid
- [2018] UKUT 209 (AAC)
- CPIP/2098/2017
- Aids and appliances
- Preparing food
- Clear findings must be made as to the nature of assistance or supervision that would enable a claimant to carry out a task safely
- [2018] UKUT 101 (AAC)
- CPIP/3130/2017
- Preparing food
- Supervision
- Meaning of ‘assistance’ and whether applicable to a situation where another person undertakes the entire process of preparing and cooking a meal for a claimant
- [2018] UKUT 5 (AAC)
- CPIP/2327/2017
- Preparing food
- Supervision does not require a one-to-one relationship between a PIP claimant and supervisor
- [2017] UKUT 436 (AAC)
- CPIP/1823/2017
- Preparing food
- Supervision
- Type of aid or appliance should be identified if there is a perceived need to use one / tribunals need to take a fresh look at facts unconstrained by the findings of the decision maker
- [2017] UKUT 419 (AAC)
- CPIP/1469/2017
- Aids and appliances
- Preparing food
- Dietary requirements are not relevant when assessing a claimant’s ability to prepare and cook a simple meal
- [2017] UKUT 358 (AAC)
- CPIP/2723/2016
- Diabetes
- Preparing food
- Functional difficulties must arise from a physical or mental condition and not from other personal conditions such as childcare responsibilities
- [2017] UKUT 317 (AAC)
- CPIP/663/2017
- Evidence
- Preparing food
- Inability to read instructions or use timers may be relevant when considering activity 1
- [2017] UKUT 272 (AAC)
- CPIP/3739/2016
- Autism
- Learning disability
- Preparing food
- Reliably
- Undertaking the whole task of preparing and cooking a meal for a claimant does not amount to ‘assistance’ with that activity
- [2017] UKUT 268 (AAC)
- CPIP/404/2017
- Anxiety and depression
- Preparing food
- Whether a lightweight pan is an aid or appliance / PIP assessment guide only guidance and not legally binding
- [2017] UKUT 42 (AAC)
- CPIP/2740/2016
- Aids and appliances
- Preparing food
- Concept of a simple meal must, in material respects, be the same for all claimants without reference to cultural or religious requirements
- [2016] UKUT 572 (AAC)
- Reported as [2018] AACR 1
- CPIP/1532/2015
- Preparing food
- Microwave is not an ‘aid or appliance’ for cooking / Definition of ‘simple meal’ in activity 1
- [2016] UKUT 322 (AAC)
- CPIP/190/2016
- Aids and appliances
- Anxiety and depression
- Preparing food
- Supervision
- Ability to carry out an activity safely under regulation 4 is a distinct concept from requiring supervision for that activity
- [2016] UKUT 219 (AAC)
- CPIP/3573/2015
- Preparing food
- Reliably
- Supervision
- Claimant may be able to establish a need for prompting even if able to perform a specific task when there is impetus to do so
- [2016] UKUT 194 (AAC)
- CPIP/181/2016
- Anxiety and depression
- Dressing and undressing
- Engaging with other people face to face
- Fluctuating conditions
- Preparing food
- Substance misuse
- Washing and bathing
- Use of microwave to heat ready prepared food is not sufficient / Importance of applying regulations 4 and 7
- [2016] UKUT 150 (AAC)
- CPIP/1418/2015
- Dressing and undressing
- Fluctuating conditions
- Preparing food
- Reliably
- Levered taps are an ‘aid’ for the purposes of preparing food in activity 1
- [2015] UKUT 546 (AAC)
- CPIP/1695/2015
- Aids and appliances
- Arthritis and joint pain
- Hand and arm problems
- Preparing food
- ‘Cook’ in PIP descriptors does not include bending to use an oven / ‘Managing therapy’ includes help to set up a TENS machine
- [2015] UKUT 281 (AAC)
- CSPIP/40/2015
- Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition
- Preparing food
- Walking stick can be an ‘aid’ for the purposes of ‘preparing food’ / First-tier Tribunal should put appellant on notice if they are considering removing points
- [2015] UKUT 275 (AAC)
- UK/4056/2014
- Aids and appliances
- Less favourable awards
- Preparing food