The Review into Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has started. And they want to hear from you to understand how PIP could be improved.
The Timms Review of PIP
Many people with MS rely on PIP. It’s designed to help with the extra costs of living with a disability. But for many people with MS, the system doesn’t work. Now, there’s a major opportunity to make your voice heard.
The UK Government is reviewing PIP. This review will examine how PIP works and whether it’s meeting the needs of disabled people.
It’s often referred to as the Timms Review because it’s co-chaired by the Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms. A steering group is leading the review. It’s made up of disability experts and disabled people with experience of claiming PIP.
This review is a chance to shine a light on what’s not working and push for meaningful change.
What is the open call to share evidence on PIP?
For many disabled people and those living with MS, this is a crucial moment.
The steering group has published a call for evidence. This means they want to hear people’s views and experiences of how PIP is currently working. They'd also like to hear ideas about how PIP could be improved.
The call for evidence is open to anyone. The steering group want to hear from people from all different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage anyone with MS to respond. As well as people who are carers or have family and friends with MS. You don’t have to be an expert in PIP – your expertise is your experience.
Read more about the Timms Review and why they’re asking for evidence
Share your experience and knowledge of PIP
If you have any experience of PIP, good or bad, this is a unique opportunity to share and shape the future of PIP. We need to show why PIP needs to be fairer and what needs to change. And personal stories are a powerful way to help us do this.
When you write your response, you can share anything you think is important. That might be your personal experience, the challenges you’ve faced, what has worked well. Or what needs to change in the future, no matter how big or small.
Some tips to get you started
The steering group has suggested four themes as a guide. We’ve put together some prompts to help some of your thinking, if you’re wondering where to start.
But this is an open call. It’s not a series of questions to answer. You don’t need to follow the themes if they don’t feel relevant to you.
The PIP themes include:
- the role and purpose of PIP
- eligibility, fairness and equity in the award of PIP
- experiences of claiming PIP
- the impact of changing contexts on PIP
The PIP Review is asking:
How effectively is PIP delivering on its intended role and purpose?
Here are some ideas for things you could talk about:
- What living independently means for you, and whether PIP supports you to do this.
- What extra costs you face due to your MS, and whether PIP helps you to pay for these. And if not, what impact this has on you.
- Whether you’ve accessed other types of support because of your PIP claim, and whether this has helped you. For example, a Motability car or a Blue Badge.
- Whether things the media, politicians and people in wider society say about PIP and benefits affect how you feel claiming it.
The PIP Review is asking:
Does the PIP assessment, including the assessment criteria, effectively capture the impact of long-term health conditions and disability in the modern world, and provide fair access to the right support at the right level across the benefits system?
Here are some ideas for things you could talk about:
- How you found the process of requesting the form, filling it in, and providing evidence.
- What type of evidence you think best reflects the impact of your MS.
- Whether your evidence was taken into account during your assessment.
- What type of challenges, if any, you faced in attending your face-to-face assessment or doing a phone assessment.
- What you think about the PIP activities and descriptors, including whether you think they reflect the reality of living with MS.
The PIP Review is asking:
What is the experience of people claiming PIP and does this vary for different groups of people?
Here are some ideas for things you could talk about:
- How the overall experience of claiming PIP felt, and how it affected you.
- If you got the support you needed through the process of applying for PIP. Whether it was from the DWP staff or staff at the private assessment providers.
- How you found the assessment itself, including the assessor and the questions you were asked. And whether you felt your assessor understood MS and its impact on you.
- Whether the assessor checked you could do activities repeatedly, safely, in a reasonable time and to an acceptable standard.
- What you thought about your assessment report (which you would have received with your award decision). And whether this reflected how your MS affects you. Whether you thought any of it was inaccurate or whether any assumptions were made about you and your condition.
- If you have fluctuating symptoms or issues with your mobility due to your MS, how well were these assessed.
- If you’ve been reassessed for PIP, how you found this process.
- If you’ve appealed against a decision, how you found this process.
The PIP Review is asking:
What has changed in wider society and the workplace since 2013 (and might be expected to change in the future), how has this impacted PIP and does PIP need to change accordingly?
Here are some ideas for things you could talk about:
- Whether you’ve faced any challenges with other services, related to your MS. And if yes, whether these played a role in you deciding to claim PIP. For example:
- inaccessible public transport, meaning you needed PIP to pay for a car or taxis to get around
- struggling to access NHS services, meaning you needed PIP to pay for private physiotherapy or mental health support
- struggling to access social care support, meaning you needed PIP to pay for carers to help you get dressed, or manage treatments or medications
- If you’re in work and claiming PIP, whether PIP helps you to stay in employment. If yes, what you use PIP for.
- What you think of the Government’s plan to remove the Work Capability Assessment (WCA)
.and use the PIP assessment to decide whether people can get extra disability support on Universal Credit.
How can I submit my response?
There are several ways you can respond. Here’s a list of the different ways you can take part.
- Submit a written response using the online form. The online form has 2 text boxes, each with a 600 word limit.
- Email your response to [email protected]
- Post your response to:
The Timms Review
Disability and Health Strategy Directorate
Department for Work and Pensions
Floor Two,
Caxton House
London,
SW1H 9NA.
The call for evidence is open for 10 weeks, until 11.59pm, Thursday 28 May.
You can find alternative formats for the form here. They include web British Sign Language (BSL), Easy Read, audio, Braille, large print and Welsh translation. To request a Braille version or physical copies of other published accessible versions of this call for evidence, email the team on [email protected].
To ask about about alternative ways to submit, email [email protected].
What’s happening in Scotland?
If you live in Scotland, you can still respond to the call for evidence. However, it’s important to remember Adult Disability Payment (ADP) has replaced PIP there.
With the Scottish Parliament elections in May, we’re calling on the next Scottish Government to commit to building a fairer and healthier future for people with MS. This includes improvements to ADP, including calling for meaningful change to the eligibility criteria.
Other ways to get involved
We’re shaping our campaign plans together with our Disability Benefits Panel, to make sure people with MS are heard during the review.
If you’re not already signed up, you can join our campaigns community. We’ll send you the latest updates on our campaigning on PIP straight into your inbox.
For someone to talk to right now, or any advice on benefits, our MS Help Hub is here for you. You can call us on 0808 800 8000 or send us an email at [email protected].
