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Neutral Citation Number:
Reported Number:	R(IB)5/03
File Number:	CIB 5207 2001
Appellant:
Respondent:
Judge/Commissioner:	Judge C. Turnbull
Date Of Decision:	23/05/2001
Date Added:	15/10/2002
Main Category:	Incapacity benefits
Main Subcategory:	activity 8: lifting and carrying
Secondary Category:	Incapacity benefits
Secondary Subcategory:	activity 4: standing
Notes:	Incapacity for work - personal capability assessment - "lifting and carrying by the use of the upper body and arms" - whether ability to walk with relevant object required Standing - ability to stand with palms of hands on table The claimant suffered from low back pain and sciatica. He told the tribunal he could lift a 5lb bag of potatoes from a supermarket shelf to a trolley. The tribunal concluded that he had no problem with lifting and carrying. On appeal to the Commissioner, it was argued that "carry" connoted a degree of movement from one place to another. It was also argued that the tribunal had applied the wrong test in relation to the activity of standing, in that they took into account the claimant's ability to stand for 40 minutes without apparent discomfort during the hearing with both palms on the table, without indicating that they had considered the support that placing his palms on the table might have provided for his back. Held, allowing the appeal, that: 1. It was clear that, since the amendment to the definition of the activity of lifting and carrying in paragraph 8 of the Schedule to the Social Security (Incapacity for Work)(General) Regulations 1995 as from 6 January 1997, the descriptors which refer to the claimant's ability to "pick up and carry" an object do not require him to be able to do more than move the object by means of his upper body and arms, and in particular do not require him to be able to walk with it (paragraph 8); 2. The facility of placing both palms on the table while standing could have provided support for the claimant's back above and beyond the only support (i.e. that of a walking stick) contemplated by the statutory definition of the activity of standing. The Tribunal should have indicated that it appreciated that and had taken it into account (paragraph 11). The Commissioner remitted the case to a differently constituted tribunal.
Decision(s) to Download:	R(IB) 5-03 final.doc