This month, the Timms Review published its interim report about Personal Independence Payment (PIP). This is the Review’s first step towards making important changes to PIP. Read on to find out about what is in the report. And what the report means for PIP.

What is the Timms Review interim report about?

The Timms Review launched in November 2025. It is an independent review of PIP that is being led by Minister Stephen Timms alongside a co-production group. The Review is looking at whether PIP is providing disabled people with the right support. And whether the benefit is set up to be fair and ready for the future.

You can read more about the Timms Review on our website.

In the Spring, the Review launched a call for evidence which asked people to share their experiences and views of PIP. Over 38,000 people responded to the call for evidence. Including over 2,500 people who responded through Scope.

The interim report is an update on what the Review has heard so far from the call for evidence and other research. It does not make any changes to PIP or offer any suggestions for changes. Instead, it sets out the themes emerging from the evidence they have found and highlights where PIP is not working well.

What are the key findings?

In this report, the Review sets out key findings across 4 main themes.

Theme 1. The role and purpose of PIP

The report has found that PIP is an essential form of support that is valued by disabled people.

But it also found that there is a widespread misunderstanding of what PIP is for. The report says there needs to be an understanding of “what is meant by independence and to live independently.”

The report also found that PIP does not recognise the variety of the extra costs disabled people face. Or how these can be shaped by things like someone’s circumstances, where they live or how well they feel included in society.

“PIP is widely described as an essential form of support, playing a central role in enabling independent living, access to services, and participation in daily life.”

Theme 2. Eligibility, fairness and equity in the award of PIP

The report found that disabled people find PIP to be unfair and inconsistent. This is especially true for disabled people with invisible or fluctuating conditions.

The report also said that PIP may be “filling the gaps” between other services and support. This means that some disabled people may have to use PIP for more than just managing their extra costs.

"The current system does not always reliably distinguish between differing levels of need, particularly in cases involving complex, fluctuating, or less visible conditions."

Theme 3. Experience of claiming PIP

The report found that most disabled people did not have good experiences of PIP. 90% of the call for evidence submissions describe negative experiences.

The report also found that there is a lack of trust in PIP from both people who claim PIP and the public. Many people felt that their experiences and disabilities were not accurately reflected in PIP assessments.

“For some people who need to claim PIP, the application, assessment and decision making journey feels stressful and complex.”

Theme 4. Changing context and the impact of PIP

The interim report found that society's understanding of disability has changed since PIP was introduced. And that the PIP system is trying to keep up with all these changes. The report says that many factors impact on PIP like NHS waiting lists, social care systems, poverty and the wider benefits system. But that PIP may not be able to solve those things.

"The responses received reflect a changing context in which the PIP system operates."

What does this mean for me?

If you currently claim PIP, or are applying for it, nothing will change for you yet. Your eligibility and PIP payments will stay the same for now.

The Timms Review team are still gathering evidence and working through responses to the call for evidence. They have not yet made recommendations on how to reform PIP. We expect them to announce their recommendations in autumn 2026.

What is Scope’s perspective on the interim report?

We welcome the interim report. We were pleased to see the Timms Review recognise so many of the problems that disabled people have been telling us for years. We agree that PIP is not working for disabled people.

It is also encouraging that the steering group in charge of the Review includes members who have lived experience of disability. And that they have committed to co-producing the Review with disabled people.

The report’s findings also reflect what we found in our Futureproofing Benefits report, that disabled people find PIP stressful and degrading. And that reforms to PIP need to build trust between the Government and disabled people.

What we would like to see from the final report.

We want to see the final report recommend changes that make PIP a fairer, easier to navigate system. One which better reflects what life is like for disabled people today.

Four things we want to see the Review recommend are:

• PIP should stay focused on the extra costs of disability, not whether someone is capable of work. Whether someone can work should not affect their entitlement to PIP or their award.
• The assessment process should be more dignified and person centred. Meaning that the assessment reflects the realities that disabled people face. 
• The system should properly recognise and support disabled people with the extra costs they face.
• Disabled people should be empowered and treated as the experts of their experiences and lives throughout the PIP process.

What is next?

Now that the interim report is out, the Timms Review team will be focused on creating solutions to the problems they have identified.

The Timms Review team are set to announce their recommendations to the Government in a final report. This will be published in autumn 2026.  

Sign up to become a Scope campaigner to stay up to date with the Timms Review. 

In the meantime, you can contact our helpline team for advice and support on disability benefits. Call 0808 800 33 33 or email helpline@scope.org.uk