Daily living component activity 10 descriptor B (2 points)
Needs prompting or assistance to be able to make complex budgeting decisions.
Who it applies to
Daily living component activity 10 descriptor B is most likely to apply to an individual with needs relating to mental health and / or cognitive conditions.
Daily living component activity 10 descriptor B will apply to an individual who needs prompting or assistance with:
- managing their personal and household budgets
- managing and paying bills
- planning future purchases.
Who it may apply to
Daily living component activity 10 descriptor B may apply to an individual who needs prompting in the form of encouraging, explaining or reminding to make complex budgeting decisions.
An example of an individual who needs prompting or assistance to manage complex budgeting decisions is where they can manage simple budgeting decisions like food shopping and buying clothes, but not longer-term finances.
If an individual describes making bad budgeting decisions, for example having spent all their money as soon as they receive their monthly income, it should be considered whether this poor decision making was a consequence of their condition or disability.
Similarly, if an individual lacks motivation to make budgeting decisions, it should be considered whether this is something they have control over or is caused by their condition or disability.
If an individual lacks motivation to make budgeting decisions, it should be considered whether this was because of their needs relating to their condition or disability.
Mental health conditions and complex budgeting decisions
A mental health condition may affect an individual’s ability to make complex budgeting decisions.
Complex budgeting decisions involve the ability to respond to changing circumstances.
For example, an individual who has depression may experience symptoms that impact their ability to respond to changing circumstances.
If an individual has a mental health condition affecting their ability to make complex budgeting decisions, then daily living component activity 10 descriptor B is likely to be appropriate.
If an individual’s mental health condition symptom impacts on their cognitive ability to the extent that there is an impact on their ability to make simple budgeting decisions, then a higher descriptor may apply.
Example: an individual with bi-polar disorder, who satisfies daily living component activity 10 descriptor B
Application form
Steph has bipolar disorder. A psychiatrist letter she’s sent with her Adult Disability Payment (ADP) application form describes the mood swings she experiences.
The letter notes that she typically has excessively high mood, lasting around 6 weeks, a period of 1 week when her mood is stable, then a depressed mood for 6 weeks.
In her application form, Steph explains that during her high moods she impulsively buys items online, even if this means she does not have enough money to buy food.
In her low moods, she does not deal with anything and ignores bills and bank statements. The combination of this overspending and then ignoring bills means that she has debts.
She has had to apply for insolvency and repays her debts a nominal amount weekly. She applied for insolvency in one of her stable weeks that happen once every two months.
Case manager’s decision
As Steph has a cycle of overspending and then not paying her bills, she needs the help of another person to make sure that she completes this activity to an acceptable standard.
The case manager determines that Steph satisfies daily living component activity 10 descriptor B because of the encouragement and reminding of another person that she would need to complete this activity reliably.