Recommendations will soon be presented to the Government about PIP
PIP claimants (Personal Independence Payments) are being advised of a series of key dates coming up in September and October. A major review of the benefit is taking place with recommendations to change the rules for the benefit soon to be presented to MPs.
A series of roundtable discussions begins next week as review leaders gather feedback from claimants and other to help shape their recommendations for the future of PIP. The consultation events form a crucial phase of an ongoing review into how PIP operates.
Ministers hope the review will reform the benefit so it better supports people living with long-term health conditions or disabilities. PIP provides financial support to cover extra living costs, paying up to £194.60 a week (worth over £10,000 a year) at the highest combined rate.
‘Where it needs to change’
A range of people will attend the workshops who have a vested interest in the future of PIP. Review co-chair Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE explained why these workshops are necessary.
He said: “Disabled people and people with long term health conditions know better than anyone how PIP works in real life where it helps, where it creates barriers, and where it needs to change. That experience has to be part of shaping what comes next.”
Event dates
The events are starting over the coming days, with the first workshop on Tuesday, September 15:
- September 15: London (In person)
- September 18: Newcastle/Middlesbrough and surrounding areas (Online)
- September 22: Bournemouth (In person)
- September 22: England and Wales all regions (Online)
- September 24: Birmingham (In person)
- September 25: South Cardiff (In person)
- September 29: Norwich and surrounding areas (Online)
- September 29: Glasgow (In person)
- September 30: Bangor (In person)
- September 30: England and Wales all regions (Online)
- October 1: Belfast (In person)
- October 1: Liverpool (In person)
- October 2: York and the Humber, in Sheffield (In person)
- October 6: All Scotland (Online)
- October 7: All Northern Ireland (Online).
A range of people from different backgrounds are taking part. This includes:
- People who currently claim PIP
- Other individuals who live with a long-term health condition or disability
- People who support those with a health condition or disability, such as carers
- Healthcare professionals.
When will the final recommendations for the PIP review come out?
One of the review co-chairs is DWP minister Sir Stephen Timms. He recently told the Work and Pensions Committee they expect to publish their final report with their recommendations in November 2026.
He told the MPs: “We published our interim report, the results of which were largely drawn from the call for evidence responses. We had 38,000 responses to our call for evidence, and those themes that you’ve picked out were very, very strongly represented in the replies that we received.”
This interim report said that the evidence up to then suggested that while PIP was “widely valued as a benefit”, it was unfortunately “no longer fit for purpose”. The review group also said in the report: “We need to examine how PIP can respond to the rising number of people seeking support and whether it adequately reflects the diverse reality and needs of disabled people today.
“Some people’s conditions are stable, while others change over time, fluctuate, or are less visible or harder to evidence. PIP must be able to respond to and recognise this diversity equitably.”
