🏛️ Government Launches Call for Evidence on Reforming Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

The government has opened a Call for Evidence to inform the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), inviting disabled people, carers, clinicians, experts, organisations and elected representatives to share their experiences. The Review aims to ensure PIP is fair, modern, and fit for the future.

The Call for Evidence runs from 19 March to 28 May 2026.

📋 What Is PIP and Why Is It Being Reviewed?

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a benefit that helps with the extra costs of living with a disability or long term health condition. It was originally introduced to help disabld people with independance and give a standard of quality of life. It supports nearly four million people in England and Wales and is not means tested, it is based on how a condition affects daily life of long term illness, chronic pain and mobility (but not known for helping people with variable pain), not on income.

PIP was introduced in 2013, replacing the older Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for working age adults. The Timms Review is examining whether the benefit still reflects how people's conditions affect their lives in the modern world, more than a decade on from its creation.

🔍 What the Review Is Examining

The Review is structured around four key themes, identified by the steering group:

✍️ Have Your Say: How to Respond

Anyone with lived or learned experience of PIP can submit evidence to the Timms Review.

This is the first stage of the Review's wider engagement programme. The steering group has confirmed that further opportunities to contribute will be announced as the work continues.

👥 Who Is Being Asked to Contribute?

The Review encourages responses from a wide range of people and organisations, including:

• Disabled people of all ages
• Carers and family members
• Clinicians and health professionals
• Disabled People's Organisations (DPOs)
• Advocacy groups and charities
• Academics and policy experts
• MPs and other elected officials
• Anyone with lived or learned experience of PIP

The engagement programme is designed to be accessible, with alternative formats available to ensure as many disabled people as possible can contribute, including young people.

🏛️ Leadership and Governance

The Review is co-chaired by three people who bring together ministerial responsibility and lived and learned expertise:

• Sir Stephen Timms - Minister for Social Security and Disability
• Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE
• Sharon Brennan

A 15 member steering group brings together lived experience and expertise across welfare policy, accessibility, advocacy, co-production, governance, and leadership within Disabled People's Organisations. The group has shaped the Review's four themes and its workplan.

💬 What the Co-Chairs Said

Sir Stephen Timms said:

"As we progress with our Review of PIP, it is vital that as many people as possible have the chance to contribute. I encourage anyone with experience of the PIP system, including young people, or with relevant expertise, to submit their views. This is just the first step in our wider programme of engagement. I look forward to announcing more ways to get involved as our work continues."

Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE said:

"It is vital that disabled people's voices are at the heart of this Review. PIP has a profound impact on people's daily lives, independence, and sense of dignity, so any conversation about its future must begin with those who live with its realities every day. This Call for Evidence is an important opportunity to listen directly to disabled people, carers, organisations, and others with experience of the system. We want to hear honestly what is working, what is not, and what a fairer and more human system should look like."

Sharon Brennan said:

"It is essential for the success of this review that we hear frank and honest views from as many disabled people, carers, advocates and others as wish to participate. That's why this Call for Evidence is just the start of our engagement plans, which will be wide and varied to ensure people can offer their views in a way that works for them."

🗺️ Wider Context

This Call for Evidence forms part of the government's wider Plan for Change, which aims to reduce barriers to opportunity and improve living standards, including for disabled people.

The Timms Review is due to report in the autumn of 2026. Its findings will be used to inform any future changes to PIP, with the stated aim of ensuring the benefit is fair and fit for the future.

The Call for Evidence is being administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on behalf of the Review's steering group. Evidence submitted will go directly to the steering group, which has been appointed to jointly lead the Review.

Related to Disabilities

The government put a disability panel to advise on the lived experience of the disabled community but it does not account for the whole disabled community, The members of this panel are all professionals from CEO's to Directors and Founders, Not one person on the panel is disabled and unable to work, so it is not a true representation of the disabled community.