[2024] UKUT 339 (AAC)

Adopting the HCP’s flawed findings

The HCP dealt with the claimed lack of motivation as follows (pages 19 and 26)—

“She can prepare her own meals, but mum tends to do this as she enjoys it, She can do this if she needs to and is able to stand for duration of preparing a meal. She only had 1 meal yesterday, sometimes she needs encouragement to eat/drink water. She tends to just drink coffee. She thinks this is due to pain from her wisdom teeth and it is painful to eat. Yesterday when she did eat, she reports it caused pain and a chipped tooth due to the wisdom teeth so she tends to avoid eating. She also can tend to comfort eat and eat junk food to feel better. No reported weight loss in the last 12 months. Does not need encouragement throughout eating a meal.” (page 19)

“Although CQ reports low motivation in activity 1 and stress affecting activity 2, SOH reports she is able to prepare meals as needed but allows her mum to do so as she enjoys to. She is avoiding eating due to wisdom tooth pain, and therefore will make herself coffees instead. No physical restrictions that would impact ability to prepare a meal, she would be able to stand for the duration of preparing a meal. HOC reports previous weight loss however is now able to maintain this, no specialist input or recent weight loss reported. Although CQ does report low motivation this is not consistent or evidenced throughout the assessment, based on the available evidence 1A, 2A are likely” (page 26).

The HCP repeated that the claimant had told her that “She can prepare her own meals”. But being “able” to prepare her own meals did not mean the claimant did not need prompting to be able to do so. The HCP does not however appear, from the passages set out at paragraph 40 above, to have investigated that. In this respect, the HCP’s finding as to activity 1 was flawed in that it did not go far enough. In accepting the HCP’s finding that the claimant can prepare her own meals, the First-tier Tribunal adopted that flaw.