“The cooking test”

I have a client who has stated in their claim pack that they can only cook a hot meal 3-4 times a week which i understand would probably rule out low rate care but the client (who suffers with COPD, Severe Depression and Osteoarthritis) has said that they have to sit on the floor in the living room whilst chopping vegetables, then they have to rest for around 20 mins before taking the pan back into kitchen to put on the hob. He then has to sit back on the floor for 20 mins etc whilst his food is cooking before returning to the pan.  Afterwards he is normally left exhausted and will go back to bed after this.

The client has been refused any rate of DLA and is awaiting an appeal date.

To me this doesn’t constitute conventional cooking, but under the “cooking test” would this be seen as that the client can still cook a main meal for themselves.

Can anyone give me any advice/caselaw please?

Also their decision was partly based on an IB assessment which was over a year old by the time the client put in a claim for DLA, would it be worthwile asking for this to be disregarded from the tribunal as evidence.

Many thanks

hardly what anyone would call cooking.

he should have said, no he can’t!  and explained.

he may be as well to submit a new claim - dm clearly entitled to refuse lrc on that.

but, if he’s that bad, is there not a lot of other things he should be having assistance with?  ask him how long it takes to wash/dress etc….

I always feel faintly worried about people who say that they can only do things sitting on the floor, especially when you are talking about osteoarthritis. I have mild osteoarthritis in my knees, hips and back. I can sit on the floor but I find it almost impossible to get up again, as this puts a lot of pressure on the joints.
I presume that the exhaustion is due to the COPD - ie, breathlessness. Getting up off the floor is quite hard work too and would make almost anybody who isn’t particularly fit puff a bit. Can’t he have a chair or stool in the kitchen? It would be a lot easier.

There are a lot of things he has put down on the form that show it takes a long time to do certain tasks due to breathlessness, tiredness and pain but then he also mentions going shopping etc in his claim pack. i do feel that the claim form will make it difficult to get an award based on what he wrote but having visited him numerous times at home, he does seem to be effected quite badly by his condition and state of mind, to a point where i felt that i had to inform social services as i feel he is very vulnerable and unable to care for himself. Unfortunately when he goes to see a doctor, EMP, SS etc he is less willing to talk about his condition as he feels he may lose his home and be moved into sheltered housing, something which he is totally opposed to for personal reasons.

Does the heat and steam generated by cooking exacerbate his COPD- if it does then CDLA/4212/2002 may be useful.

The most useful decision regarding reasonableness and the cooking test is Moyna, (R(DLA)7/03) and ,as your cl has to take long breaks while doing any cooking CDLA/7374/1995 might also be helpful