SRT v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Facts

The Appellant, anonymised as SRT under a rule 14 order, claimed Personal Independence Payment. The Secretary of State's decision-maker allowed the claim, scoring her at 10 points for both the daily living and the mobility activities, finding as regards mobility that only descriptor 2d applied, and awarding the standard rate of both components for the period from 27 February 2024 to 29 April 2027. The decision under appeal was taken on 9 May 2024. In her mandatory reconsideration request the Appellant contended that she qualified for 4 points under mobility activity 1(b), asserting that she could not go to new locations on her own because her son took her everywhere; in her reasons for appealing to the First-tier Tribunal she added that her osteoarthritis and the associated mental stress left her severely anxious about new places. The First-tier Tribunal (Judge C Mather, Mrs C Clarke and Dr J Rao), sitting at Stoke on 19 November 2025, dismissed the appeal on the same basis and confirmed the award in place. The Appellant appealed to the Upper Tribunal, acting in person, on three grounds all directed at mobility activity 1 (planning and following journeys): failure to apply regulation 4 (the reliability criteria); failure properly to assess overwhelming psychological distress; and inadequate engagement with material evidence. Permission to appeal was granted by Upper Tribunal Judge Wikeley, who also issued abbreviated case management directions.