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Daily living - Activity 5: Managing toilet needs or incontinence

Activity 5 considers a claimant’s ability to get on and off the toilet, to clean afterwards and to manage evacuation of the bladder and/or bowel, including the use of collecting devices. 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 5 are -

  1. Can manage toilet needs or incontinence unaided. 0 points
  2. Needs to use an aid or appliance to be able to manage toilet needs or incontinence. 2 points
  3. Needs supervision or prompting to be able to manage toilet needs. 2 points
  4. Needs assistance to be able to manage toilet needs. 4 points
  5. Needs assistance to be able to manage incontinence of either bladder or bowel. 6 points
  6. Needs assistance to be able to manage incontinence of both bladder and bowel. 8 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 5, 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;
  • “manage incontinence” means manage involuntary evacuation of the bowel or bladder, including use a collecting device or self-catheterisation, and clean oneself afterwards;
  • “prompting” means reminding, encouraging or explaining by another person; 
  • “supervision” means the continuous presence of another person for the purpose of ensuring [the claimant's] safety; 
  • “toilet needs” means - (a) getting on and off an unadapted toilet; (b) evacuating the bladder and bowel; and (c) cleaning oneself afterwards.
  • “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 5 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 5 for ADP – managing toilet needs or incontinence.

 

Case law

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