PIP Timms Review, Disabled People Invited to Shape Final Recommendations

Disabled people and people with long term health conditions are being invited to apply for workshops that will directly inform the Timms Review's final recommendations on Personal Independence Payment. Registration opened on 12 August 2026 and closes on 21 August. The 15 workshops, held both online and in person at locations across the UK, take place during September and October 2026.

The move comes after the Review's Interim Report, published on 9 July 2026, concluded that PIP is no longer fit for purpose. The final report, due in autumn 2026, will set out formal recommendations to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. These workshops are intended to test and refine the steering group's emerging ideas before that report is submitted.

The Timms Review's Interim Report, published 9 July 2026, is described by the Department for Work and Pensions as the first comprehensive review of PIP since the benefit was introduced in 2013. The Review launched in October 2025 under the co-chairmanship of Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE.

The Review received more than 38,000 responses to its Call for Evidence, which ran until 28 May 2026. Among the key findings reported in the Interim Report:

• PIP widely valued: Many claimants describe it as a vital cash benefit that helps meet the extra costs of disability and supports independent living
• Assessment described as dehumanising: A large number of respondents said the assessment and decision making process was stressful and dehumanising
• Barriers to participation: PIP can itself create barriers to work, social, and community life, particularly for those with fluctuating, less visible, or multiple conditions
• No longer fit for purpose: The steering group concluded the benefit has not kept pace with how disability, health, and work have changed over the past decade
• Four themes identified: The steering group agreed to focus its recommendations around PIP's purpose, eligibility criteria, claimant experience, and the changing context of disability

The Department for Work and Pensions announced the workshops on 12 August 2026. The stated purpose is not simply to hear people's experiences again the Call for Evidence already did that but to test emerging recommendations from the steering group against the lived reality of disabled people and those with long term conditions.

Participants will be selected randomly, but the steering group will review the pool to ensure a balanced representation:

Who is eligible to apply

Eligibility is broad. The workshops are aimed primarily at disabled people and people with long term health conditions, but carers, family members of disabled people, and support workers are also eligible to register their interest.

• Disabled people: Primary target group for the workshops
• People with long term health conditions: Explicitly included in the invitation
• Carers and family members: Eligible to apply alongside those with direct PIP experience
• Support workers: Also eligible, where they work with PIP recipients
• No PIP receipt required: Previous applicants and those who have been assessed but not awarded PIP may also be relevant, though the announcement does not exclude any particular experience

Alongside the public workshops, the Review will separately contact stakeholders including Disabled People's Organisations, charities, and MPs to test and refine its emerging recommendations during the same September and October period. The workshops and stakeholder engagement are described as running in parallel, not as one replacing the other.

The Review is operating against a significant financial backdrop. As of spring 2026, total PIP spending was forecast by the Department for Work and Pensions to increase to over £41 billion by 2030/31, according to figures published in the Interim Report. The steering group has acknowledged it must consider how to balance independent living, rights, fairness, and sustainability within fixed financial limits.

• PIP expenditure: Forecast to exceed £41 billion per year by 2030/31 in current prices, according to the Interim Report
• Review mandate: To make PIP fair and fit for the future, and to support disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards, and greater independence
• Government position: The Review's recommendations will be submitted to the Secretary of State, the government has not pre committed to accepting them in any particular form
• Timing: Final report expected in autumn 2026, no date for any subsequent legislation or implementation has been set
• Scale of engagement: More than 38,000 responses to the Call for Evidence, alongside workshops and expert sessions throughout the review

PIP was introduced in 2013, replacing Disability Living Allowance for working age people. It is a non means tested benefit intended to contribute towards the extra costs of disability and long term health conditions, and to support independent living. It is not linked to whether someone is in work.

The steps between now and a final report are set, even if what the report contains is not yet determined:

How to register

Registration to take part in the workshops is available on GOV.UK. The link is accessible through the Timms Review collection page and the 12 August 2026 press release. Registration closes at 5pm on Friday 21 August 2026. Selected participants will be notified by 4 September 2026.

• Where to apply: Via GOV.UK search for the Timms Review workshop registration page
• Deadline: 5pm, Friday 21 August 2026
• Notification: Selected applicants informed by 4 September 2026
• No preparation required: No prior knowledge of government reviews or PIP policy is needed
• Further information: The Timms Review collection page on GOV.UK includes all published documents, including the Interim Report and its annexes

The workshops announced on 12 August 2026 mark the next stage of a review process that has been under way since October 2025. They are an opportunity for disabled people and those with long term health conditions to directly test proposed changes before any formal recommendations are made.

The Interim Report has already set out in stark terms what the evidence shows, PIP is not working as intended for many people who rely on it. But the workshops are not about gathering more evidence of that, they are about testing what a different system might look like, and whether proposed fixes would actually work in practice.

Whatever recommendations the steering group submits in autumn 2026, it will be for the government to decide what to do with them. No changes to PIP are in force, and none will be until legislation is introduced and passed.