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Daily living - Activity 10: Making budgeting decisions

Activity 10 assesses whether the claimant is able to make budgeting decisions, either simple - for example involving activities such as calculating the cost of goods and change required following purchases - or complex - for example decisions involving calculating household and personal budgets, managing and paying bills and planning future purchases. As with all the other activities, a claimant is to be assessed as satisfying a descriptor only if they can do so reliably.

Descriptors

The descriptors for Activity 10 are -

  1. Can manage complex budgeting decisions unaided. 0 points
  2. Needs prompting or assistance to be able to make complex budgeting decisions. 2 points
  3. Needs prompting or assistance to be able to make simple budgeting decisions. 4 points
  4. Cannot make any budgeting decisions at all. 6 points

Source: Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013 (SI.No.377/2013), and Part 2 of Schedule 1 to SR.No.217/2016 in Northern Ireland.

NB - in Scotland, adult disability payment is replacing personal independence payment and the descriptors are found in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Scotland) Regulations 2022 (SSI.No.54/2022).

Definitions

Terms used in the PIP descriptors are defined in regulations and, in relation to Activity 10, are -

  • “aid or appliance” - (a) means any device which improves, provides or replaces [the claimant's] impaired physical or mental function; and (b) includes a prosthesis;
  • “assistance” means physical intervention by another person and does not include speech;
  • “complex budgeting decisions” means decisions involving - (a) calculating household and personal budgets; (b) managing and paying bills; and (c) planning future purchases;
  • “prompting” means reminding, encouraging or explaining by another person; 
  • “simple budgeting decisions” means decisions involving - (a) calculating the cost of goods; and (b) calculating change required after a purchase;
  • “unaided” means without - (a) the use of an aid or appliance; or (b) supervision, prompting or assistance. 

Source: Regulation 2 of and Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013 (SI.No.377/2013), and regulation 2 of and Part 1 of Schedule 1 to SR.No.217/2016 in Northern Ireland.

See also DWP guidance on Activity 10 in section 2.3 of the Personal Independence Payment assessment guide for assessment providers.

NB - in Scotland, adult disability payment is replacing personal independence payment and the definitions are found in regulation 2 of and Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Scotland) Regulations 2022 (SSI.No.54/2022). See also Social Security Scotland guidance in Daily living component activity 10 for ADP – making budgeting decisions.

Case law

Commentary:​ The definitions of ‘simple’ and ‘complex’ budgeting decisions are considered in the unpublished case CPIP/3015/2016 where the judge finds only those with significant cognitive/intellectual impairment should satisfy the descriptor for simple budgeting decisions. In contrast the concept of 'complex budgeting decision' is held to measure a wider range of abilities such as planning and calculating budgets, and in turn a wider range of conditions may cause functional loss. The unpublished case CPIP/184/2016 held that the assessment of the 'making budgeting decisions' activity requires 'a focus on intellectual capacity’ rather than taking account of any physical difficulties that may arise in managing the practicalities of a claimant's finances. | Add commentary or suggest an edit.