PIP reforms edging closer – as disability groups warn against more benefit cuts ...Middle East

Reforms to disability benefits have inched closer after the launch of a formal review into eligibility – and as ministers were warned against further attempts at cuts.

Disabilities minister Sir Stephen Timms today launched an appeal for disabled people to join work on the review into personal independence payments (PIP).

He pledged to create a “fair” system as part of the work, which will examine how disability benefits are assessed and how a person can qualify.

The Government has also announced the appointment of two co-chairs, Dr Clenton Farquharson and Sharon Brennan, both of whom have worked on disability-related policies.

But disability groups warned Timms not to use the work as a guise for trying again to cut benefits.

The review was promised after the Government failed to get proposed cuts to disability benefits over the line earlier this year. Labour MPs pushed back against the reforms, which were eventually shelved, and demanded that any changes to PIP be properly co-produced with disability organisations.

In response, Timms was tasked with looking at how the PIP assessment process, and the eligibility criteria for those claiming the benefit, could be reformed. It is due to report back in autumn of 2026.

The Government is recruiting 12 members of a new steering group – the majority of whom will be disabled people or representatives of disabled organisations. They will help to produce the recommendations.

Writing in The i Paper, Timms said: “Health trends have shifted. Society has changed. But the support we offer hasn’t changed with it. That’s why I’m leading the most comprehensive review of PIP we’ve ever undertaken – and we’re doing it differently.”

He said “co-production at this scale” would mean “disabled people won’t be an afterthought”.

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He added: “I want to be clear about what this review is for. It’s about making PIP fair and fit for the future. We’re doing it to get our support right.”

The Department for Work and Pensions said the “shift” in health trends referred to an increase in the number of working-age people who are disabled, which is now close to 10 million and has grown by nearly three million since 2013.

There have also been greater increases in the prevalence of disability among young people, and a rise in mental health conditions.

The Government’s previous plans to reform PIP involved raising the bar for eligibility, which would have made it harder to claim the benefit for those with milder mental health conditions or milder physical ailments.

The Disability Benefits Consortium, a coalition of more than 100 charities, said the review was a “vital opportunity” to address issues that were preventing disabled people from living independently.

However, Charles Gillies, the group’s co-chair, warned that disabled people had “sent the Government a clear message this year that cuts to PIP will worsen financial hardship and ill-health, and will not be tolerated.

“So it’s vital that this process must not become about cost saving. Instead, it must stay committed to real and meaningful engagement with disabled people.”

Timms has previously said the review is not about saving money, but its work is expected to feed into wider Government plans to address issues in the welfare system – including the rise in people claiming disability benefits whilst not being in work.

PIP eligibility is not currently related to out of work benefits, but ministers previously announced they want to use disability assessments to establish a person’s work status.

Under the plans, the PIP assessment will become the single gateway for health-related and disability benefits.

Out of work sickness benefits, known as the universal credit health element, have already been cut for new claimants from April onwards under efforts to reduce spending in this area and encourage more people into work.

Tories offer to lend votes to Starmer to get welfare cuts through Parliament

On Wednesday, Kemi Badenoch said she was willing to lend Conservative votes to Starmer to get welfare cuts through Parliament.

At Prime Minister’s Questions she urged him to “work with us to find a way to cut welfare spending” instead of increasing taxes in the Budget.

Afterwards, Badenoch’s spokesman told The i Paper that the botched delivery of the welfare bill over the summer – when the Government was forced to water down cuts after a rebellion by Labour backbenchers – showed Starmer needed Tory support.

He said: “We know that he can’t get it through his backbenchers. There may be some willing to work with him, but if he can work with us to find those welfare savings, then we can get this thing through.”

In June, the Tory leader said she was willing to save the Government’s welfare bill if Starmer agreed to a number of conditions – such as committing not to raise tax in the autumn – which critics said were impossible for Labour to agree to.

But this time her spokesman said she was willing to hold talks with the Prime Minister without preconditions.

He added: “This is an updated offer, we’re doing this in the spirit of bipartisanship. So we’re not prejudging anything. As I say, we’ve set out £23bn worth of welfare savings. So we do have a template, but given the immediacy of the need to bring down government spending we will sit down and talk it out.”

Reform UK also set out its plans for curbing benefits spending.

Nigel Farage’s party claimed it could save £9bn annually by 2029 by stopping personal independence payments for “non-major anxiety disorders”, ensuring the “vast majority” of assessments were face-to-face, and moving people to a “fast track to work” programme which would include talking therapies.

Stephen Timms: PIP must be ‘fair and fit’ for the future

For too long, disabled people have been shut out of decisions that affect their daily lives. It has to change.  

Personal independence payment has been running for over a decade without a full review. In that time, the world has moved on. Health trends have shifted. Society has changed. But the support we offer hasn’t changed with it.  

Close to 10 million working-age people are disabled, and this number has grown by nearly three million since 2013/14. Alongside this, PIP claims have grown considerably, being set to double from two to more than four million people by the end of the decade.  

That’s why I’m leading the most comprehensive review of PIP we’ve ever undertaken – and we’re doing it differently.   

For the first time, government is adopting co-production at this scale. Disabled people won’t be an afterthought – they’ll be at the heart of the Review.    

I’ve spent the summer listening. I’ve met with representatives from more than 50 organisations across the disability and welfare sectors, including experts who understand what meaningful co-production looks like in practice. Their expertise has been fundamental to how we’ve designed this review.   

And it shows in who’s leading it. Dr Clenton Farquharson brings 25 years of experience as a national advocate for disability rights, co-production and social justice as associate director at Think Local Act Personal; a trustee of Disability Rights UK; and a board member of the National Development Team for Inclusion.     

Sharon Brennan brings expertise from previous roles including director of policy and external affairs at National Voices, as well as advising the Department for Transport on accessibility as a member of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee.

Together, they’ll lead a steering group where the majority of members are disabled people or representatives of disabled people’s organisations.   

 This matters because not supporting people with disabilities or long-term health conditions with the extra costs in their lives fails them. This Government is committed to giving disabled people the same opportunities, choices and chances as everyone else – so they can live full and fulfilling lives.   

I want to be clear about what this review is for. It’s about making PIP fair and fit for the future. We’re doing it to get our support right.   

That means being ready to listen, learn and work alongside disabled people as true partners. It means changing how government works. And it’s essential to delivering our plan for national renewal. 

Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability

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