The Department for Work and Pensions has appointed a steering group of 12 members with lived experience of disability to lead the first comprehensive review of Personal Independence Payment
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that disabled people will be at the heart of the first ever comprehensive review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), with the appointment of 12 members to its steering group. The selected members will bring personal experience of disability or long-term health conditions, as well as direct experience of working within Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs).
DWP Minister Sir Stephen Timms informed Parliament on Monday that the PIP review is currently “under way at the moment”. He told MPs: “We have a steering group of 12 individuals, almost all of whom are disabled people, plus me and two other co-chairs, and we had our third full-day, in-person meeting last week.”
The group’s experience spans welfare policy, accessibility and advocacy, and includes members with a background in co-production, governance, and leadership. The group will provide strategic direction and help set priorities and a work plan for the Timms Review, alongside the Review’s three co-chairs – Sir Stephen Timms, Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE.
The group will examine the role of PIP in enabling disabled people to achieve better health and live independent lives, the PIP assessment criteria for daily living and mobility and how the assessment could provide access to the right support across the benefits system.
Claims for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) have surged in recent years. In 2019, there were two million working-age people receiving PIP, but that figure has risen to over 3.9 million by the end of October 2025, reports the Daily Record.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has projected that the number of PIP claimants will surpass four million by the close of the decade.
The aim of the Timms Review is to ensure that PIP is equitable and future-proof – accurately representing individuals’ conditions and their aspirations, whilst considering societal changes since its inception.
The DWP noted that since the introduction of PIP in 2013, there have been evolving trends in long-term health conditions and disability. More individuals are living with a disability, yet the rise in the number receiving disability benefits is twice the rate of increasing prevalence among working-age adults in England and Wales.
It’s crucial to note that in Scotland, PIP has been superseded by Adult Disability Payment, and the Scottish Government has previously declared it has no intentions to reform the devolved benefit.
The Timms Review is set to report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by Autumn 2026, with an interim update anticipated before then.
Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms, recently stated: “Disabled people deserve a system that truly supports them to live with independence and dignity, and that fairly reflects the reality of their lives today.
“That’s why we’re putting disabled people at the heart of this Review – ensuring their voices shape the changes that will help them achieve better health, greater independence, and access to the right support when they need it.
“We’re delighted to announce the appointment of the steering group members, who alongside myself and the Review’s co-chairs will report back to the Secretary of State in the Autumn.”
Co-chair Sharon Brennan stated: “The group we have chosen shows our commitment to ensuring this review is co produced with people from a diversity of backgrounds including lived and living experience, protected characteristics, geographies and professions.
“But 15 people can’t represent everyone, which is why our work will be part of a wider engagement process to ensure we hear from many more voices throughout the review.”
Co-chair Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE commented: “Personal Independence Payment plays a vital role in enabling disabled people to live independent lives. This Review will listen closely to lived experience, test whether the system is fair, and ensure PIP reflects the realities of disability in the modern world.”
A coalition of charities has welcomed the inclusion of disabled people in the steering group, but warned “it cannot become about making cuts”.
The Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC) – a coalition of over 100 charities, including the MS Society, Scope, Parkinson’s UK and Mencap – has stated that the review provides an opportunity for “real change” to a system of assessments which are “not only stressful, they fail to recognise the impact of fluctuating and progressive conditions like MS – often denying people the support they need to live independently”.
Charles Gillies, DBC policy co-chair and senior policy officer at the MS Society, described it as “undeniably positive that most members of the new steering group have lived experience of disability or claiming Pip”.
He further commented: “This review must now engage meaningfully with the steering group and disabled people more generally, and remain laser-focused on improving the fairness of PIP assessments – or we risk this vital opportunity being wasted. And crucially, it cannot become about making cuts.”