Chapter 61 -Attendance Allowance and DLA care component -Definitions - Preparation of the Cooked Main Meal
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The “main meal test” determines a person’s ability to perform key daily tasks. It is a hypothetical test to calibrate the severity of a person’s disability. It is not a test of cooking ability or of the person’s ability to survive or enjoy a reasonable diet without assistance. It is a measurement of a person’s physical and mental capacity to carry out complex functions. A cooked main meal means a meal for one person freshly cooked on a traditional cooker.
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The definitive interpretation of the cooking test is now that of the House of Lords in Moyna v. Secretary of State. This requires taking a broad view over the relevant period of time taking into account the available evidence of the claimant’s abilities and testing them against the hypothetical test. This can be done by looking at the persons abilities to perform activities involved in cooking, including direct evidence of actual difficulties with cooking, such as gripping, lifting, bending, planning, as well as indirect evidence of other activities using the same bodily functions that are normally used in cooking, for example, eating, washing, driving, shopping, cleaning, being aware of danger, or any other physical or mental activity using the same bodily functions as are normally used in cooking.
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The meal must be a traditional one and freshly prepared on a daily basis, not a preprepared or frozen meal which merely requires reheating. Factors such as diet, culture and the type of facilities or equipment available are not relevant to the test. Whether a person actually prepares and cooks a main meal is not the issue; it is whether that person is capable of performing the necessary skills such as-
This list is not exhaustive.
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People unable to perform the tasks associated with preparing a cooked main meal for themselves are not normally able to carry out other daily tasks which require similar skills.
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Claimants who can physically manage all the tasks necessary to prepare a cooked main meal, could satisfy the test if they would be at risk of injury whilst cooking. The risk must be of real and tangible danger.
Example
John has epilepsy and experiences frequent fits without warning. Although he is physically capable of performing the tasks needed to prepare the cooked main meal there is a risk that he might have a fit whilst chopping vegetables or standing over a cooker. He cannot prepare a daily cooked meal because the disability makes the task dangerous and so he therefore satisfies the test.
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The ability to plan a main meal is also important. Some people who have a mental disability may be able to carry out all the different tasks involved separately, but may still be unable to prepare and cook a main meal. This is because they cannot plan it or do all the necessary tasks in a logical way without help.
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Claimants who are unable because of mental disability to start to prepare a meal or to carry it through once started, will satisfy the condition. The lack of motivation to cook or the fear of cooking must be the result of mental disability.
