The House of Lords clarified the approach to the “cooking test” which governs eligibility for the lowest rate of the care component of disability living allowance.
Daniel Kolinsky represented Mrs Moyna in the Court of Appeal who held that she was entitled to disability living allowance because ther was a clear pattern of her being unable to prepare herself a cooked meal.
Richard Drabble QC and Daniel Kolinsky represented Mrs Moyna on the Secretary of State’s appeal to the House of Lords.
The House of Lords held that the statutory test involved looking at the whole period and making a general judgment as to whether the person could be fairly described as being unable to cook. The House of Lords allowed the Secretary of State’s appeal and indicated that the Court of Appeal had been too willing to interfere with the judgment of the decision making tribunal.
