PIP prepare a simple meal — Scope | Disability forum
Please read our updated community house rules and community guidelines.

PIP prepare a simple meal

FrankLittle
FrankLittle Community member Posts: 1 Listener
I'm applying for PIP but don't know what the 'prepare a simple meal' question specifically means - I think it's more stringent than the question I had to answer for DLA that qualified me for Care component, so I'm worried I no longer qualify. Do you know what qualifies for this question - is it just putting a ready meal in a microwave, or is it cooking from scratch including peeling and chopping?

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 210 Listener
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • Matilda
    Matilda Community member Posts: 2,593 Disability Gamechanger
    edited November 2016
    It means cooking a simple meal for one - from fresh ingredients, once a day (the other meals can be ready meals, DWP only expect you to be able to prepare from fresh ingredients once a day).  So, I worked on the assumption that it's: a small piece of meat or fish; raw potatoes, raw veg.

    I scored two points for, on bad days which are the majority, NOT being able to prepare a simple meal even using aids (think I should have got more, according to the DWP's own handbook) so have asked for a mandatory reconsideration).

    Assessor asked me if I ever gave up and resorted to soup or sandwich.  I said, no, I always at least try to prepare from fresh ingredients once a day.

    Disability Rights website PIP guidelines include a sample diary which details the difficulties a physically disabled person might have chopping and peeling veg.

    I think that people are more likely to score points if they use aids.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 210 Listener
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • Matilda
    Matilda Community member Posts: 2,593 Disability Gamechanger
    Did you appeal, mumof3?
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 210 Listener
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • Matilda
    Matilda Community member Posts: 2,593 Disability Gamechanger
    How far can you walk?  Is it more than 100 metres?
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 210 Listener
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • Matilda
    Matilda Community member Posts: 2,593 Disability Gamechanger
    Doesn't make sense why you lost your appeal.  Did it go to a tribunal?
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 210 Listener
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • BenefitsTrainingCo
    BenefitsTrainingCo Community member Posts: 2,621 Pioneering
    Hi FrankLittle

    Preparing a simple meal means doing all the things you would need to do with fresh ingredients from scratch. So... peeling, chopping, washing, using pans etc.

    Cooking a simple meal means heating food above the waist. This is not heating a ready meal in a microwave. But it could possibly include using a microwave instead of a conventional cooker to cook fresh ingredients from scratch (e.g. steaming/boiling potatoes in a microwave rather than on the hob). However, there is some dispute about this and there could be a need for specialist advice.

    The requirement is to be able to complete each activity "reliably". This includes being able to do it repeatedly. Arguably one only needs to cook from fresh ingredients once each day but this may not always be the case.

    I hope this helps.
    David
    The Benefits Training Co:

  • nanof6
    nanof6 Community member Posts: 200 Pioneering
    on that subject, i was asked would i be able to make speggetti  bolanaze,
  • Matilda
    Matilda Community member Posts: 2,593 Disability Gamechanger
    I don't regard spaghetti bolognese as a simple meal.
  • BenefitsTrainingCo
    BenefitsTrainingCo Community member Posts: 2,621 Pioneering
    Hi FrankLittle,

    As my colleague David advises, there are some differing decisions in benefits case law about the PIP activity of cooking a simple meal. So for example, one judge reckoned that if you had the ingredients ready (whether prepared by you, purchased ready-prepared or prepared by someone else) and could cook them in a microwave, but not in a cooker, you'd score 2 points. BUT if you can't prepare those ingredients yourself (the peeling, chopping etc), OR you can't cook them, then you could score more - 4 if you needed assistance or supervision to prepare or to cook, and 8 if you can't prepare & cook food for yourself at all. 

    One problem is that PIP is points based, unlike DLA, and you need 8 points to qualify. So you should answer all the questions on the form as fully as possible in order to pick up points in other activities, if you can. This website helps you by looking at the activities & you can also look at different conditions & activities which might be relevant to them.

    Will

    The Benefits Training Co:

  • tiggerdog
    tiggerdog Community member Posts: 1 Listener
    Hi
    i applied for PIP after a craniotomy and scored 0 in both! 
  • Matilda
    Matilda Community member Posts: 2,593 Disability Gamechanger
    It isn't the medical condition(s) themselves, no matter how serious, for which claimants are awarded PIP. It's how the medical condition(s) affect their ability to perform daily tasks - preparing food, eating, washing, dressing, and a few others, plus how far you can walk on your own outdoors, that earn you the points.  It's necessary to demonstrate strongly that you have difficulty performing some or all of these tasks, or can't perform them at all.  And you have to have these difficulties (bad days) on at least 50% of days. 
  • mossycow
    mossycow Scope Member Posts: 500 Pioneering
    The definition of being able to do something is to be able to it safely without pain, in a reasonable amount of time and be able to repeat it. There's a document somewhere that says this but I can't send it. 

    So, if it takes you longer, or you can only make a sandwich because other stuff hurts... Or like me it takes all day and I have to shuffle round to do it... Then no, you can not do it. And don't be ashamed to admit that (like I was at first) 

  • kenny
    kenny Community member Posts: 74 Courageous
    Quite often even if you insist you cannot do one of the activity such as dress and undress , shower etc the assessor decides that if you wanted to you could do it, she decided for me that I could things I had never been able to do in my life  as I was born with cerebral palsy! Fortunately for me I provided indisputable evidence that she was wrong, and I was awarded my money back, but as Matilda says it is not about your illness or condition its about what you are able to do for yourself
  • BenefitsTrainingCo
    BenefitsTrainingCo Community member Posts: 2,621 Pioneering
    Hi again FrankLittle, just to agree with the advice you've got on the forum. It's not about your condition but about what you can and cannot do, and how long it takes you. If something takes you twice as long as it would another person, you shouldn't be treated as if you can do it. So be upfront about just how difficult it is.

    If your ability to prepare a meal varies, then as Matilda says, the 50% rule means that if you can't do something more than 50% of the time, you shouldn't be treated as doing it. The 'reliably' condition that my colleague David mentions includes being able to do something:

     safely (so mention any risks that could arise from preparing food/cooking);
    to an acceptable standard;
    repeatedly; and
    within a reasonable time period.

    Will
    The Benefits Training Co:

Brightness

Do you need advice on your energy costs?


Scope’s Disability Energy Support service is open to any disabled household in England or Wales in which one or more disabled people live. You can get free advice from an expert adviser on managing energy debt, switching tariffs, contacting your supplier and more. Find out more information by visiting our
Disability Energy Support webpage.