Disability benefits not fit for purpose and need bold reform, says Pip review
Disability benefits are “no longer fit for purpose”, a review has concluded amid promises of “bold” reform of the system.
Claimants of personal independence payment (Pip) often find the system to apply for the benefit “dehumanising”, “soul destroying”, and “degrading”, the interim Timms report said.
Pip is intended to help with everyday tasks and extra living costs if someone has a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability.
The latest official figures earlier this year showed the number of people in England and Wales claiming the main disability benefit passed four million for the first time – roughly doubling since 2019.
The number of claimants classed as having autistic spectrum disorders has more than doubled in six years, according to Press Association analysis, as has the number with mixed anxiety and depressive disorders, while the number with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) has almost quadrupled in that time period.
The review was launched last year after ministers were forced to climb down on plans to reform disability benefits, including for those with mental health conditions, in the face of backbench Labour opposition.
Instead of immediate reform, the review, led by disability minister Sir Stephen Timms, was put in place to gather views on Pip and how it works, with the Government promising no changes to the benefit until it is completed.
The final report, which will include recommendations for change, is due in autumn and the Government has insisted the review will ensure Pip is “fit and fair for the future”.
The review team said their recommendations will be “bold in nature and bold in recognition of the wider environment in which disabled people in the UK are living”.
They said: “Our message is simple: Pip is not working.
“It is not working for the people that go through the process, nor for a Government committed to supporting disabled people.
“We are committed to making changes so that Pip can fulfil its purpose for disabled people and those with long-term conditions, both now and into the future.
“Doing so will require us to be radical in our thinking and bold in our recommendations for reform.”
The team, which includes Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson who both have lived experience of disability, said feedback from almost 40,000 people and organisations had found more than 90% described negative experiences of the process of claiming the benefit.
The review stated: “Our evidence so far tells us that while Pip is widely valued as a benefit, it is no longer fit for purpose.”
Asked this week about the rise in claimants with conditions such as ADHD, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said he had told the Timms review panel it must consider “whether the assessment process is today really fit for the range of conditions, and the rise in the reports of some conditions that have been reported compared to when it was conceived 13 years ago”.
He added that he had suggested they should be “ambitious” in their recommendations, and that he is “pretty confident that that whole question of the assessment and different conditions will be quite central to their work”.
There were 4.01 million Pip claimants in April 2026, according to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data published in June, up 7% in a year and roughly double the number since comparable figures began seven years ago in January 2019, when the total stood at 2.05 million.
Of those, 1.56 million were listed as having psychiatric disorders, or 39%, the highest proportion for any type of disability.
Some 258,539 claimants were classed as having autistic spectrum disorders, more than double the 103,414 in April 2020, according to PA analysis.
A further 435,330 claimants had mixed anxiety and depressive disorders, up from 214,119 in April 2020, while 100,207 had the hyperkinetic disorders ADHD or ADD, up from 28,740.
The second most common type of disability among claimants were general musculoskeletal diseases, which applied to 752,799 people, or 19% of the total.
The Timms report notes that numbers reporting mental health conditions and autism have “increased significantly” since 2009, covering the period pre-2013 before Disability Living Allowance (DLA) was replaced by Pip.
It said in contrast to this rise, the number of people reporting the two main musculoskeletal conditions of back pain and arthritis had risen “only slowly”, likely driven by an ageing society and broader demographic changes.
But the report said that demographics “do not obviously explain the trends in the mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions”.
Teenagers and young adults continue to account for a growing proportion of those receiving Pip – with 16.6% of all claimants in April this year aged 16-29, up from 14.3% in April 2020.
While there has been a similar rise for the 30-44 age group, which accounted for 20.9% in April, up from 18.7% in 2020, there has been a fall in the proportion of claimants aged 45 to 59 – at 28.9% of claimants in April, down from 36.0% in 2020.
The figure for 60 to 74-year-olds stood at 31.1%, broadly unchanged from 31.0% in 2020.
Sir Stephen said: “This interim report delivers a clear message: while Pip is widely valued as a benefit, it is not working as intended and needs fundamental change.”
Dr Farquharson said: “As we move towards final recommendations, we need to be bold in our ambition, practical in our proposals, and focused on making Pip fair, trusted and fit for the future.”
Charlotte Gill, head of campaigns at the MS Society, said the review was a chance to “build a Pip system that acknowledges invisible and fluctuating symptoms, ends unnecessary reassessments, and works for everyone”.
She added: “But the next steps are crucial – and must continue involving and listening to disabled people.
“That’s the only way to make Pip fair and fit for the future.”
Sarah Hughes, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, said: “Pip is a lifeline for people who, through no fault of their own, live with the additional costs of mental illness.
“So as this work progresses, it’s vital that, alongside improving the process, we also recognise that in a decent society we must support those facing additional need.”
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, welcomed the fact the review team had listened to and worked with disability campaigners.
He added: “This approach should continue so that future recommendations are practical, deliverable and do not harm disabled people.
“I hope that the process of co-production will help to restore trust in the welfare systems that many of us rely on.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub