[2025] UKUT 357 (AAC)

“The test for this activity is whether [claimant] could engage socially ie interact with others in a contextually and socially appropriate manner, understand body language and establish relationships. [Claimant] was awarded 2 points under 9b in respect of prompting, both in 2018 and in 2023. She described significant problems to HCP in 2023, page 215. She was confrontational, has been in a fight with a neighbour; had been removed from her GP surgery and generally struggled to be around people. Today, she confirmed she had assaulted people and lost control of herself, mainly when she was drinking alcohol. She had lost friends through this. She told us today that she takes her nanna with her to appointments. She had some support from her parents and sister. She told the HCP she was able to go to parents evening with her partner, page 216. She told the UC HCP in 2022 that she was able to speak to unfamiliar work colleagues and to customers at work; she could speak to teachers and her social worker; she could speak to unfamiliar staff and people in the shop, page 188.

Considering all of the evidence before us today, we found that [claimant] required more than just prompting to engage. She was getting social support from her grandparents, as she was today. Most of the social support she was getting was contemporaneous. Previously, she'd had social support from her partner. With the right social support from family and her mental health worker Mr Sowter, she was able to engage appropriately most of the time. Without that support, she struggled to engage with others.

In the submission, we were asked to consider 9d: Cannot engage with other people due to such engagement causing either - (i) overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant; or (ii) the claimant to exhibit behaviour which would result in a substantial risk of harm to the claimant or another person. Whilst we accept that on occasions [claimant] had exhibited behaviour likely to result in harm to others, this was not for the majority of days, and mainly when she had been drinking excessively. She had been arrested for assault a long time ago, but the GP records did not support that she was a danger to other people or herself at the date of decision. Her behaviour had improved with time. We awarded 4 points under 9c.”