Have your say on the future of PIP

What’s the Timms Review? 

Right now, the UK Government is looking at whether the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) works well for the people who rely on it. They’re doing this through the Timms Review, led by Disabilities Minister, Sir Stephen Timms MP. And they want to hear from you. 

They’ve launched what’s called a ‘call for evidence’, asking people what it’s like applying or being assessed for PIP. They also want to know how it helps you, day to day.   

This is a big moment for our community. People with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions like arthritis are one of the largest groups who rely on PIP to live, work and socialise so we must have a say on any future changes to it. 

Share your experience of PIP  

You have until Thursday 28 May and can share anything that’s important to you. If you rely on PIP, or have tried applying for it before, this is your chance to tell the government what challenges you’ve faced, or what’s worked well, as a person with arthritis. 

You might also want to share your ideas about what needs to change to PIP applications and assessments in the future. 

What should I share? 

If you’re worried about where to start, we’ve put together some guidance on how you could respond. 

The government is asking 4 questions, and you’ll see 2 text boxes for your answers. This is an open call, which means you don’t have to answer all of the questions, or any at all if there’s something else you’d like to share instead. 

Here are the questions and some prompts to help you answer them. 

1. How effectively is PIP delivering on its intended role and purpose? 

• You might want to talk about: 
• Whether you feel PIP helps you stay independent.  
• What you spend more money on, day to day, because of your arthritis. 
• What PIP helps you pay for, day to day. This could include getting around, going to work or socialising.  
• If you’ve had your application rejected, what PIP could have helped pay for, day to day. 

2. Does the PIP assessment, including the assessment criteria, effectively capture the impact of long-term health conditions and disability in the modern world, and provide fair access to the right support at the right level across the benefits system? 

You might want to talk about: 

• What it’s like applying for PIP. This could include how easy or difficult you found filling in the form.  
• What you would like assessors to know or understand about arthritis. 
• Whether you feel you were listened to or understood by the assessor during the assessment.  
• Whether you think the assessment captures what it’s like living with arthritis. This could include the changing nature of arthritis, and the pain, fatigue or other symptoms you experience. 

3. What is the experience of people claiming PIP and does this vary for different groups of people?  

You might want to talk about: 

• How you felt applying or being assessed for PIP. 
• Whether the questions you were asked during the assessment felt fair. 
• Whether you felt supported throughout applying or being assessed for PIP. 
• What it’s like living with a condition like arthritis that can change day to day when applying or being assessed for PIP. 
• If you’ve had your claim rejected, what this process felt like for you. 
• If you’ve been reassessed for PIP, what this process felt like for you. 

4. What has changed in wider society and the workplace since 2013 (and might be expected to change in the future), how has this impacted PIP and does PIP need to change accordingly? 

You might want to talk about: 

• If it has, how the cost of living has impacted you. 
• If you’re working, whether PIP helps you stay in your job. 
• Whether you’ve had to pay privately for joint replacement surgery, physiotherapy or other types of treatment because of long NHS waits.  
• Whether you feel long NHS waits have impacted your health or wellbeing and led to you applying for PIP. 
• How easy or hard you find getting public transport, and if PIP helps with getting around.
• Whether you use PIP to pay for carers to help you get dressed or manage day to day tasks because you’ve struggled to get social care support.  

How can I share my experiences?

There are a few different ways to respond. 

You can submit your response using the online form: 

Or you can email your response to timmsreview.callforevidence@dwp.gov.uk  

You can even post your response to:  

The Timms Review
Disability and Health Strategy Directorate 
Department for Work and Pensions
Floor Two
Caxton House
London SW1H 9NA

And you can request British Sign Language (BSL), Easy Read, audio, Braille, large print and Welsh translation by emailing the team running the call for evidence: timmsreview.callforevidence@dwp.gov.uk