Case No. EWHC-185-(Admin)

30.Importantly for the current case the Defendants advised the Claimant that on the basis of their medical assessment of him they considered that the Claimant’s need was for studio accommodation and that he could manage stairs. The Defendants noted the Claimant was using crutches during the assessment and was undergoing physiotherapy. The Defendants considered that this therapy should allow the Claimant to progress to walking with a stick and then walking unaided. The Defendants relied on their medical assessment to assert that the Claimant did not need a separate sleeping space for a carer. 31.The Defendants noted the Claimant had relied on a telephone occupational therapy assessment dated 20th of May 2020 completed on the phone due to COVID and that the Claimant had asserted he had suffered a road traffic accident causing his injuries leading to the need for a wheelchair. The Defendants had arranged an urgent face to face assessment following up on this. The Defendants explained that before they could give the Claimant “mobility 1” categorisation they needed confirmation from the NHS that the Claimant required a wheelchair permanently and at all times. The Defendants stated that there was nothing in the Claimant’s medical records to indicate that he had been in a road traffic accident or had suffered the injuries that he had described to the assessor and so the Defendants were currently seeking further information from the Claimant’s GP. The Defendants also noted that although the Claimant had asserted that the Defendants’ social services department had confirmed he needed a live-in carer, in fact the Defendants denied this.