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Timms Review Says PIP Is Not Working and Calls for a Root-and-Branch Overhaul

The interim report urges replacing the 13-year-old points-based assessment, signaling possible tighter eligibility for ADHD, autism and anxiety for the next government to decide.

Why have 100,000 people been signed off work with ADHD in the UK?
Caption: Protesters gather to demonstrate in Westminster against cuts to the welfare state and benefits and asking for the rich to be taxed as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to be making her Spring Statement speech to Parliament on 26th March 2025 in London, United Kingdom. Hundreds of people, many disability campaigners and people with disabilities gathered on Whitehall and proceeded towards the House of Commons shouting out slogans and waving anti-cuts placards, mainly slogans such as 'Welfare not Warfare'. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images) Photographer: Mike Kemp Provider: In Pictures via Getty Images Source: In Pictures Copyright: Mike Kemp
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Overview

  • The Timms interim report, submitted this week to the Department for Work and Pensions, concludes Personal Independence Payment is “not fit for purpose” and calls for radical reform rather than tinkering.
  • The review finds the current points-based assessment fails to capture fluctuating and less visible conditions because it effectively judges claimants on how they present on a single day.
  • Ministers including Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden have said the findings mean eligibility rules for conditions such as ADHD, autism and anxiety may be tightened as the government responds.
  • PIP caseloads and costs are under heavy strain with about four million claimants and just over 100,000 listing ADHD as their main condition, and the report says one group—people with long-term conditions—should be protected from harmful changes.
  • The interim report stops short of final policy decisions and sets a timetable for fuller recommendations in the autumn or November 2026, leaving major legislative choices and fiscal trade-offs for the incoming government to consider.