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Conflicting decisions on the pca "sitting" test

Commissioner's decision CIB/1239/2004 , following the decision of Howker v. Secretary of State for Social Security stated that the description/descriptor for "sitting" used in the the personal capability assessment test was unlawful from 15 July 2004. The wording became as follows:

Sitting in an upright chair with a back but no arms

• Cannot sit comfortably - score 15
• Cannot sit comfortably for more than 10 minutes without having to move from the chair - score 15 
• Cannot sit comfortably for more than 30 minutes without having to move from the chair - score 7 
• Cannot sit comfortably for more than one hour without having to move from the chair - score 3

Note: This guidance never applied in Northern Ireland.

A later decision, CIB/3397/2004, has argued that this was not unlawful and guidance was issued stating that the wording of the test is now:

Sitting in an upright chair with a back but no arms

• Cannot sit comfortably - score 15
• Cannot sit comfortably for more than 10 minutes without having to move from the chair because the degree of discomfort makes it impossible to continue sitting - score 15 
• Cannot sit comfortably for more than 30 minutes without having to move from the chair because the degree of discomfort makes it impossible to continue sitting - score 7 
• Cannot sit comfortably for more than one hour without having to move from the chair because the degree of discomfort makes it impossible to continue sitting - score 3

Note: This wording also applies in Northern Ireland.

More information

• howker v. secretary of state for social security
• cib/1239/2004
• cib/3397/2004
• personal capability assessment physical descriptors and scores

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