Correspondence

The Timms Review: Co-Chair Update, March 2026

Published 19 March 2026

Co-chair update, March 2026

Dear all,

As co-chairs of the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), we are writing to provide an update on the Review’s progress.

In our last letter, we announced the membership of the steering group as well as our partnership with The Public Service Consultants (PSC) and WECIL (West of England Centre for Inclusive Living), who are supporting us to deliver an ambitious, co-produced Review. We also set out our commitment to a wider programme of engagement that would play a vital role in shaping the Review.

This letter provides further detail on the work now underway, alongside initial information about the wider programme of engagement.

The work of the steering group

The steering group’s work has now begun in earnest. As co-chairs, we have been struck by the insight, care and ambition that members have brought to the process so far, and we are grateful for their commitment.

Alongside building relationships and considering how best to create a psychologically safe and constructive process, the group has been focusing on the policy context, existing evidence, and the engagement needed to support meaningful co-production. We shared our own experiences of co-production and explored the challenges with PIP that the Review could address, drawing on our wider expertise and knowledge alongside our own lived and living experience.

We are now turning to the next phase of work and shaping the Review’s workplan. Every member of the steering group is committed to ensuring that this work is informed by a broad range of voices and experiences, and making engagement as accessible as possible, with different ways to take part across the UK, reflecting different needs and preferences.

Launching the Call for Evidence

As part of this wider approach, we are pleased to announce that the Timms Review is today launching a Call for Evidence. This will be issued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on behalf of the steering group.

The purpose of the Call for Evidence is to gather evidence and hear views that will strengthen our understanding of the challenges with PIP. It is open to anyone who wishes to contribute, and we are particularly keen to hear from disabled people, the organisations that represent them, carers, clinicians, experts, MPs, and other elected officials across the UK, as set out in the Terms of Reference.

The Call for Evidence will seek views and insight on the areas covered by the Terms of Reference. Based on those Terms of Reference, the steering group will shape the work of the Review around four key themes:

1. The role and purpose of PIP; 
2. Eligibility, fairness, and equity in the award of PIP; 
3. Experience of claiming PIP; and 
4. Changing context and the impact on PIP.

Information on how to respond to this Call for Evidence, along with a full range of alternative formats, including Web Accessible PDF, Easy Read, Audio, British Sign Language, Large Print, and Welsh, can be found on GOV.UK at The Timms Review.

The Call for Evidence is open from Thursday 19 March for 10 weeks, with the final deadline for responses on Thursday 28 May. All responses will be made available to the steering group. DWP will also support the process by collating and analysing responses to inform the Review’s work. Respondents will have the option to submit their views anonymously if they prefer.

The evidence and insight received through this process will play an important role in helping the steering group develop its recommendations.

We have heard clearly how important it is that disabled people have a genuine opportunity to shape this Review, and we agree. There is a great deal of expertise, experience and insight across the UK from organisations that support disabled people to individuals with direct experience of the PIP system. That knowledge must help shape the work ahead. We therefore encourage you to take the time to respond to this Call for Evidence, and to share it with your networks and interested contacts. The broader the range of views we hear, the stronger the foundation for the Review’s work will be.

As set out above, the Call for Evidence is only the first step in a wider, accessible programme of engagement. Our next update letter will provide further information on that work.

As part of our commitment to keeping disabled people, disability organisations, and other stakeholders informed, we will continue to publish these update letters as the Review progresses.

Thank you once again for your continued engagement with the Timms Review. We greatly appreciate the seriousness, interest and commitment to co-production that we have already seen, and we look forward to working with many of you in the months ahead.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE
Sharon Brennan
Rt Hon. Sir Stephen Timms MP 

Co-chairs of the Timms Review