Correspondence

The Timms Review: co-chair update, October 2026

Published 29 October 2026

Dear all, 

We are writing to share an update as the Review approaches its conclusion.

We want to reflect on what we have heard, thank everyone who has contributed and explain what happens next.

The steering group has agreed that PIP should assist D/deaf and disabled people, and people with long-term conditions, to reduce the inequalities they face in participating in everyday life through a contribution towards the extra costs of disability. This purpose applies whether or not someone is in work.

What we have heard 

Our 6 evidence gathering activities, which we set out in our April letter, have now concluded.

This work helped us to understand how effectively PIP delivers its purpose today and how it could work better in the future.

These were:

1. a call for evidence
2. analysing existing data and research
3. commissioning a new quantitative survey
4. facilitating workshop in a box sessions
5. holding evidence sessions with experts
6. holding shaping recommendations workshops

The 38,000 responses to our call for evidence helped inform our interim report.

They painted a clear picture: while PIP is valued by many people, it is not fit for purpose. The experience of claiming it can be dehumanising and it can create barriers to participation.

We developed our emerging recommendations by considering what we heard through the call for evidence, existing research from the disability sector, universities and government, and new insights from our workshop in a box engagement activity.

We also heard valuable oral evidence from experts, delivered across 26 sessions. All of this, along with the survey of almost 2,000 disabled people, will shape our final recommendations.

Throughout the process, the openness and generosity people have shown in sharing their expertise has been extremely welcome.

People shared evidence from their lived experience as well as professional, academic and policy expertise. Together, these perspectives have helped us better understand both the strengths of PIP and where change may be needed.

Shaping the recommendations 

Since publishing our emerging recommendations in September, we have been testing them with over 200 people in workshops across the country.

We would like to thank all those who took part and helped us shape and refine the recommendations.

We would also like to thank the organisations that co-hosted these workshops and helped create an environment where participants felt comfortable sharing their experiences. While co-hosts were not involved in developing or refining the Review’s emerging recommendations, their support was invaluable in helping us hear directly from participants.

Alongside the shaping recommendations workshops, we have held roundtables to test our emerging recommendations with over 40 D/deaf and disabled people organisations (DDPOs), charities, think tanks and academics.

Again, we are grateful to all who took the time to share their thinking with us.

Across the workshops and roundtables, participants helped us test how the proposals would work in real life and how they might affect different people. Many challenged our thinking, some reinforced it, others highlighted risks or gaps that we need to consider further.

Their evidence is helping us improve our recommendations.

It has helped us understand which proposals may have the greatest impact and where we may need stronger safeguards or a different approach.

What happens next 

Our task now is to refine our recommendations based on all the evidence we have heard so far and co-produce proposals for change. We are committed to producing proposals which are ambitious, practical, fair and meaningfully improve D/deaf and disabled people’s lives.

This will be our last co-chair letter before we publish our final report.

The report will be submitted to the Secretary of State this autumn and published on GOV.UK, including in accessible formats.

We would not be in a position to make recommendations without the experience, expertise and challenge that contributors have brought throughout the Review.

Your input has shaped not only the evidence we considered, but also the questions we asked, the trade-offs we explored and the recommendations we are developing.

We look forward to sharing our final report with you.

Yours sincerely, 

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

Co-chairs of the Timms Review