Form

Guidance on the application process and further information

Updated 30 October 2025

Applications to join the steering group close at 23:59 on 30 November 2025.

Summary

Organisation	Timms Review Steering Group
Sponsor department	Department for Work and Pensions
Location	Hybrid
Application deadline	23:59 on 30 November 2025
Sectors	Disability and health, social security
Number of vacancies	12
Time commitment	Up to 5 days a month (anticipated)
Payment	£300 each day plus expenses (including accessibility-related costs, travel and subsistence
Length of term	The group will run until the end of 2026

Overview

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) supports many disabled people and people with long-term health conditions. The government is committed to ensuring it remains a non-means tested cash benefit that is there for people in and out of work.  The government has launched the Timms Review of PIP, an ambitious and inclusive review that aims to ensure we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment. The Terms of Reference for the review are available on GOV.UK.

The Review will be led by the Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms, supported by two co-chairs, and co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. This means the government will share ownership and responsibility for how the Review runs and what it recommends. We are setting up a steering group which will provide strategic direction, shared decision-making, and overall leadership for the Review.

The government wants to recruit 12 people for the steering group. The group will bring together a range of expertise, experience, skills, and backgrounds. We are aiming for the majority of the group to be disabled people and we are particularly interested to hear from people who are involved with disabled people’s organisations, recognising their unique role in amplifying disabled voices. 

The steering group will shape and oversee a programme of participation and engagement that brings together a much wider range of views and voices to feed into the Review. ​ 

Alongside this, it will draw on a broad range of evidence, sources and co-production methodologies to help develop policy recommendations, which it will report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by autumn 2026.

Role 

Members of the steering group roles will be permanent positions for the duration of the Review which will run until autumn 2026. Members of the steering group are expected to commit up to 5 days each month. The actual time commitment may vary across the duration of the Review. This will be determined by the group who will agree how they want to work, as well as whether meetings are virtual, in-person or hybrid. Reasonable adjustments will be made where needed.  

Responsibilities of the steering group: 

• Collectively agree how the group will work, promoting inclusivity, accessibility and collaboration.  

• Attend regular steering group meetings and other relevant co-production and wider engagement sessions as required.

• Attend any pre-meetings and review relevant documentation before meetings. 

• Shape how the Review gathers evidence and involves expertise and lived experience beyond the core steering group. 

• Evaluate evidence, including data and insights from the Department, disabled people and other experts.  

• Collectively make decisions about the direction and focus of the Review.  

• Co-produce recommendations to make sure PIP is fair and fit for the future and helps support disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment. 

• Contribute to the production of relevant documentation relating to the Review.

• Engage with existing networks to support the delivery and dissemination of the Review’s work. 

• Offer feedback and participate in project evaluation and learning.

Co-chairs will have the same responsibilities as other group members. Co-chairs will have additional facilitation responsibilities, including co-ordination of meetings, liaison between the steering group, co-production facilitators and secretariat and supporting participation of other group members.

Payment and expenses 

Steering group members will be paid a daily fee of £300.  

Members will be responsible for submitting an invoice to the Department each month detailing the work undertaken, including any expenses incurred where applicable. This payment will be subject to PAYE income tax rates alongside any other income received. Members will be responsible for disclosing this payment to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the relevant benefit office if they are claiming a benefit. Applicants can choose not to receive payment and are advised to consult with their benefits or financial advisor. 

The Department will reimburse all reasonably incurred expenses (including accessibility-related costs, travel, and subsistence) in line with the Department’s reasonable adjustments policy and travel and subsistence policy.

Conduct and confidentiality 

Members of the steering group must not misuse information gained in the course of their appointment for personal gain or for political purpose. There is a general obligation to maintain the confidentiality of information shared in confidence. This is standard for all public appointments.  

The Timms Review aims to be transparent and open about decision-making. The communications strategy for the Review, including what information is shared publicly during the course of the Review, will be agreed with members.

Inclusion and accessibility 

DWP is committed to inclusive and accessible ways of working. We will collaborate with the Timms Review steering group and co-production facilitators to meet individuals’ needs, including accessibility requirements, training and wellbeing support, so they can meaningfully participate. 

Where required, members will be able to bring a personal assistant, carer or support worker to meetings. 

Ways of working, including whether meetings are virtual, in-person or hybrid, will be co-produced by members and reasonable adjustments will be made where needed.  

The Department will reimburse all reasonably incurred accessibility-related costs in line with the Department’s reasonable adjustments policy.

Data protection 

We need your permission to use your data so that you can be considered for selection as a member of the Timms Review steering group. 

By ‘your data’ we are referring to your name, email address and the information you share in your application. We will also collect information about applicants’ characteristics and background to help ensure we are attracting a diverse range of people and that our selection process is fair and inclusive. 

We also need your permission to use your data to contact you about other opportunities to engage with the Timms Review.  

The Department for Work and Pensions will use email as the primary way of communicating with you. Please tell us if another method of communication is preferred, such as a telephone call.

Application and selection process

Selection criteria  

Essential (for all steering group members): 

We are looking for individuals who can demonstrate the following essential criteria (with reasonable adjustments or tailored support where needed):  

• Knowledge, experience or expertise of disability, long-term health conditions and/or social security-related issues. 

• Experience being involved in strategic engagement on matters relating to disability, long-term health conditions or social security-related issues. 

• Experience engaging, supporting or working with disabled people and/or people with long-term health conditions, and/or understanding the issues and barriers they face. 

• Commitment to working collaboratively and inclusively with people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. 

• Ability to evaluate evidence from a range of sources, including qualitative and quantitative data. 

• Ability to engage with complex policy issues, including difficult trade-offs and financial decisions.

For people with learning difficulties, learning disabilities and complex needs, there will be additional support to help them participate in the steering group.

Desirable (within the group as a whole): 

We are looking to include a range of experience, expertise and diversity of representation among the steering group. Examples of the types of experience and expertise we are looking to include are listed below. No single member will meet all these criteria, but there should be a diverse range of expertise and experience across the group. 

Our ambition is that the majority of the group will be disabled people or representatives of disabled people’s organisations.  

• Lived experience of a disability or long-term health condition. 

• Experience caring or advocating for a disabled person or someone with a long-term health condition. 

• Experience claiming PIP (or supporting someone claiming PIP) in England and Wales.  

• Experience working or volunteering with a Disabled People’s Organisation or charity which supports disabled people.

• Experience delivering services which support disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to have greater independence, including through work.

• Expertise (professional, academic or by experience) in disability rights and inclusion, research, health and social care, social security and disability benefits, employment, tribunals, legislation, policymaking, economics and public policy.  

• Legal, clinical and financial expertise. 

• Expertise or experience of co-production and participatory methods.  

• Experience of executive decision making and/or consensus building.

We are committed to supporting diverse voices. We strongly encourage applications from disabled people and people with long-term health conditions from all backgrounds, with a range of experiences. We are keen for the group to have diverse representation across types of impairment, geographic region, race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, and employment status. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to make sure applicants are not disadvantaged during the application process.

How to apply 

To apply you will need to: 

1. Complete the Expression of Interest form which asks candidates to provide: 

a. Your personal details.

b. A 500-word statement setting out how you meet the essential criteria and why you would like to be a member of the Timms Review steering group. You might want to include: 

• what experience or expertise you could to bring to the group 

• why you want to be involved in the future of PIP 

• how you would contribute to co-production of the Review 

c. A diversity monitoring form. Please note answering ‘prefer not to say’ will not disadvantage your application. 

2. Provide a CV setting out your employment and/or education history, including any volunteering experience, with key responsibilities and achievements listed.  

Complete applications and CVs should be returned by email to eoi.pipreview@dwp.gov.uk by 23:59pm on 30 November 2025.

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to make sure applicants are not disadvantaged during the application process. This includes allowing candidates to present their Expression of Interest in different formats. Any requests for reasonable adjustment to support your application or requests for the Expression of Interest form in other accessible formats should be sent by email to eoi.pipreview@dwp.gov.uk.

If your application is considered for the final selection, you will be contacted by the Department or co-chairs to discuss your experience and why you want to take part in more detail. This will be an informal conversation, not an interview.  

We will contact both successful and unsuccessful applicants about the outcome of their application, but we are not able to provide individual feedback.

Additional information for candidates 

Reasonable adjustments 

The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to making reasonable adjustments to support applications from disabled people, including those with physical impairments, people with mental health problems, and those who are neurodiverse including autistic people, so that no one is disadvantaged when submitting applications. 

This can include enabling applicants to change aspects of the recruitment process if they request to do so. 

Some examples of common changes are: 

• ensuring that application forms are available in different or accessible formats 

• allowing candidates to present their Expression of Interest in different formats, for example video or audio or non-digital 

• allowing personal assistants, carer or support workers, for example sign language interpreters 

• making provision for support animals to attend in person meetings 

When you apply you will have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments to the application process by emailing eoi.pipreview@dwp.gov.uk

Equality and diversity  

We collect data about applicants’ characteristics and backgrounds so that we can make sure we are attracting a broad range of people to these roles and that our selection processes are fair for everyone. You can select ‘prefer not to say’ to any question you do not wish to answer. This will not disadvantage your application.