Timms Review sets out emerging recommendations for the future of PIP

The Timms Review has published a set of emerging recommendations for reforming Personal Independence Payments (PIP), released ahead of the main full report.

Shared on 9th September, it’s the first detailed look at how the benefit could change and the recommendations fall into two parts: practical improvements to the current PIP system, and a set of founding principles for what a reformed benefit should look like in future.

It is important to remember that nothing is final, and these are only recommendations at this stage. The proposals will now be tested and refined with people living with disabilities and chronic illness, including through a series of workshops, before a final report is submitted to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions this autumn.

PROPOSALS FOR THE CURRENT SYSTEM

Making the claims process less stressful: For people with lifelong or degenerative conditions like PH, the review recommends cutting back unnecessary award reviews where no improvement is expected. This is something many in our PH community have long flagged as a source of anxiety.

It also proposes a simpler PIP2 (How Your Disability Affects You) form with clearer guidance on what evidence actually matters, plainer language in DWP letters and communications, and a proper advocacy service for people who struggle to put their needs into words. People with the highest support needs could also get a named, joined-up point of contact throughout their claim. The review also recommends strengthening how reasonable adjustments are identified, put in place and monitored across DWP and assessment providers, so that individual needs are met consistently rather than depending on who someone happens to deal with.

Making assessments fairer and more consistent: The review wants a clearer framework for how decisions are made, challenged and corrected, with lessons from Mandatory Reconsiderations and appeals fed back into how assessors are trained and monitored. It also recommends a proper review of how PIP assesses fluctuating conditions, which is a long-standing concern for people with PH, whose symptoms can vary significantly day to day. This is so decisions aren’t based on a single snapshot. The 28-day hospitalisation rule, which can affect payments during and after a hospital stay, is also up for review, alongside wider access to face-to-face assessments where evidence is unclear.

Building a stronger system for the future: Longer term, the review wants to see an online PIP portal with individually owned data, alongside offline options for those who can’t or don’t want to go digital. It also recommends collecting better data on who applies for PIP and how they’re treated, to help identify and address unfairness across different groups.

It’s worth noting that the review’s recommendations have to work within its terms of reference, which include staying within the Office for Budget Responsibility’s projections for future PIP spending. In other words, whatever changes are ultimately proposed will need to be deliverable within that existing spending envelope, rather than involving significant new investment.

WHAT COULD PIP LOOK LIKE FOLLOWING REFORM?

Alongside these practical fixes, the review sets out founding principles for a reformed PIP further down the line. Cash support would stay at the heart of the system, remain non-means-tested, and be designed to help people participate in work, volunteering, caring and everyday life. Its aim will not be just to compensate for the extra cost of a health condition.

Some of the more significant proposed changes include:

• A ‘light-touch’ initial assessment that directs people to the right pathway, with a possible fast-track route for people with well-evidenced, serious conditions, including those receiving end-of-life care
• A “Tell Us Once” approach, so people don’t have to keep repeating the same evidence, with a single digital profile (shared only with permission) that DWP, the NHS and social care could draw on
• Wider acceptance of evidence, including from carers, family and specialists such as mental health professionals or social workers
• A system that doesn’t assume people know what to ask for, but actively helps identify evidence gaps and support needs
• Awards that reflect fluctuating and cumulative impact, rather than a single snapshot, and that could include support with costs such as equipment, mobility and transport

For people living with pulmonary hypertension, several of these proposals speak directly to issues our PH community has raised for years: the stress of repeat reviews for a condition that won’t improve, assessments that don’t capture how symptoms fluctuate, and forms and letters that are hard to navigate at an already difficult time. If adopted, these changes could mean fewer unnecessary reassessments, a fairer hearing for fluctuating symptoms, and more support to gather the right evidence in the first place.

Again, it’s important to remember though that these are just recommendations at this stage, not decisions.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Through September and October, the review’s steering group will run a series of workshops with people living with disabilities and long-term health conditions across the UK to test, challenge and refine them.

Once that process is complete, the review will submit its final report, with firm recommendations, to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions this autumn (a date has not been shared). Any decisions on actually implementing changes to PIP would follow after that and would take time to come into effect.

We’ll continue to update you as the review progresses towards its final report.

New PHA UK research, due for publication shortly, reveals just how heavily people living with pulmonary hypertension depend on PIP: 55% of those with the condition who receive benefits rely on this support. Conducted to shed light on how PH affects people’s finances and access to benefits, the survey’s findings will be published ahead of the Timms Review’s final report.

Dr Iain Armstrong, PHA UK Chair, said: “For many people living with pulmonary hypertension, PIP is not an extra but the thing that makes daily life possible. It is encouraging to see the review recognise what our community has said for years: that repeat reassessments of a condition that will not improve cause real harm, and that a single snapshot cannot capture a condition that changes from day to day.”

About the Timms Review

The Timms Review is the government’s independent review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the disability benefit for people with long-term health conditions or disabilities.

It’s led by Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, alongside co-chairs Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE, supported by a 12-person steering group of disability experts and people with lived experience of claiming PIP.

The government launched the review to ensure PIP is fair and fit for the future, and helps support disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment. Despite shifting trends in disability and changes in wider society and the workplace, PIP has never been fully reviewed before.