GOV UK shares interim report on Timms Review of PIP, calling current system 'not fit for purpose'

Today (9th July), the government have shared a press release update and interim report on the Timms Review of PIP (Personal Independence Payments), describing the existing system as “not fit for purpose.” This news has been widely reported on across the press by The Guardian, BBC News, The Independent and other outlets, and Dr Charles Shepherd, MEA Hon Medical Adviser, has responded below.

GOV UK Press Release: First comprehensive review into PIP finds it is “not fit for purpose”

GOV UK: Interim Report

What is the Timms Review of PIP?

The Timms review of PIP began last summer, initiated by disability minister Stephen Timms, and the ME Association has been following it's progress closely.

As stated on the GOV UK website back in October 2025, “The government has launched the Timms Review to ensure that Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is fair and fit for the future in a changing world, and helps support disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment.

PIP supports many people with the extra costs of a disability or long-term health condition, and the government is committed to ensuring it remains a non-means-tested cash benefit, there for people in and out of work. However, despite shifting trends in disability and long-term health conditions, as well as changes in wider society and the workplace, PIP has never been fully reviewed.

To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, the Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, carers, clinicians, experts, Members of Parliament and other stakeholders.”

The review opened calls for written evidence submissions from the public between March and the end of May 2026, calling on people to share their experience on PIP. This press release reports that they have had over 38,000 submissions, and the Government have shared their initial findings from this submitted evidence.

There is also an engagement programme taking place, in which organisations are holding workshops designed by the Timms Review to collect further evidence from members of the public with experience of PIP. This programme is still ongoing.

What are the main points shared in the Timms Review interim report?

Millions of disabled people are being failed by a benefit that is no longer working, the first ever full review into Personal Independence Payment has found.
The largest co-produced review ever undertaken by government at a national level has heard from nearly 40,000 people and organisations across the country.
Publication of interim report finds that while PIP is a lifeline for many claimants, it can create barriers to work, physical activity and community life.
Report also reveals deep-rooted problems in the design and delivery of PIP with the assessment described as dehumanising and stressful.
Quoted from GOV UK Press Release: First comprehensive review into PIP finds it is “not fit for purpose”

Read Full Press Release

The ME Association comments on the Timms Review interim report:

The government (Timms) review of PIP has now reached some initial conclusions. Not surprisingly, the main one being that the current points scoring system for PIP is not fit for purpose.

So it looks as though a completely new way of assessing people for PIP is going to be introduced. We will hear more about the solutions in the autumn.

Whether this is good news or bad news for people with ME/CFS remains to be seen. However, it looks as though the aim of any new system that is brought in will be to reduce the welfare bill and get people back to work. This will inevitably involve making PIP more difficult for some people to claim.

The real life consequence of creating a new benefit to replace PIP is that this will take at least a year, probably longer. And it's highly unlikely that anyone who is now claiming PIP will then be immediately re-assessed under new eligibility criteria. The DWP don't have the staff to do this. So if you have significant care or mobility needs and have not applied for PIP now is the time to do so.

“One of the major findings of the review will be that the points-based system for assessing disability has not kept pace with fluctuating and less visible conditions, which can include physical conditions such as cystic fibrosis and arthritis as well as mental health conditions. It will say there should be a new system that “adequately reflects the diverse reality and needs of disabled people today”.
The Guardian: Disability benefits in England and Wales not fit for purpose, Timms review to find

Dr Charles Shepherd,
Trustee and Hon. Medical Adviser to the ME Association,
Member of the 2018-2021 NICE guideline on ME/CFS committee,
Member of the 2002 Chief Medical Officer's Working Group on ME/CFS