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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that the first full review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will cover both the daily living and mobility components of the benefit. The Timms Review will also look at the role of PIP for access to other benefits and the assessment criteria. However, DWP has clarified there are no plans to make PIP a means-tested benefit. Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms will co-produce the review with disabled groups and charities, which is expected to be completed by Autumn next year. Sir Stephen said: “The government is committed to ensuring that Personal Independence Payment (PIP) remains a non-means tested cash benefit which is there for people in and out of work, now and into the future.” He continued: “The Timms Review aims to ensure we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment. The Review will take a comprehensive look at PIP and the PIP assessment criteria to consider whether these effectively capture the impact of long-term health conditions and disability in the modern world. Both the daily living and mobility elements of PIP are in scope.” The DWP Minister added: “We will ensure that the Review hears from diverse sources of evidence and the full range of views and voices. To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, the Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. “We will not seek to make further changes to PIP eligibility until the Review has reported its findings.” Sir Stephen’s comments came in a written response to Lib Dem MP Martin Wrigley who asked ‘what assessment the DWP has made of the potential impact of changes in mobility awards on disabled people’s ability to travel to employment and local labour markets’. The Review will report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Pat McFadden) in Autumn 2026, so that the UK government can then make any decisions flowing from it. DWP said these could take the form of changes to primary legislation, secondary legislation, as well as a range of potential non-legislative actions. To help people on PIP understand more about the Timms Review, the DWP has produced an easy-read document, which you can read online at GOV.UK. The DWP announced earlier this week that disabled people will be at the heart of PIP review following the appointment of two co-chairs, and the launch of a recruitment process for its wider steering group. Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE and Sharon Brennan have been appointed as co-chairs of the Timms Review, alongside the Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms . Since PIP was introduced over a decade ago, there have been shifting trends in long-term health conditions and disability, plus changes in wider society and the workplace. Close to 10 million working age people are disabled , and this number has grown by nearly three million since 2013/14. DWP said there have been greater increases in the prevalence of disability among young people and a rise in mental health conditions. However, despite these shifts, PIP has never been fully reviewed until now. DWP said the aim of this review is to make sure PIP fairly reflects the reality of the impact of people’s conditions in the modern world, as well as considering the needs of disabled people more widely.
