KT and SH v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (PIP): [2020] UKUT 252 (AAC)
Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber decision of Judge Perez on 21 August 2020.
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Judicial Summary
The claimants each need to remove their hearing aids to take a shower and to take a bath. Each cannot without the aids hear a typical fire alarm or smoke alarm while taking a bath or shower with the door closed. It was common ground that having to leave the door open would not be washing and bathing 鈥渢o an acceptable standard鈥�, as required by regulation 4(2A)(b) of the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013. Held: (1) In light of the decision of a three-judge panel in RJ, CMcL and CS [2017] UKUT 0105 (AAC), the First-tier Tribunal in each case erred in law in its consideration of whether the claimant can wash and bathe 鈥渟afely鈥�, as required by regulation 4(2A)(a) and as defined by regulation 4(4)(a). (2) There should not be room for different First-tier Tribunal panels to make different decisions as to whether there is a risk that cannot reasonably or sensibly be ignored, where the differences between the panels鈥� decisions arise not from differences in claimants鈥� needs but from different assessments of the same objective evidence of risk.