Timms Review Call for Evidence

Equal Lives
Apr 13
2 min read

A simple graphic; green blue on the left graduates to more baby blue on the right. Overlaying the ombre background, the words ‘Have your say’ appear in bold black text arced over smaller black text that says, ‘Timms Review: Call for Evidence’. Equal Lives’ logo sits to the bottom left.

Last year, with your help, we campaigned against the government’s Universal Credit Bill, which served to drive through unprecedented cuts to disability benefits, including Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

The Bill faced strong resistance from MPs, who expressed concerns that there had not been an adequate assessment of the impact on, nor adequate co-production with, those most affected - Disabled people.

Some of that resistance from MPs resulted in ‘concessions’, including the promise of no cuts to PIP until an independent review into PIP’s purpose had been conducted.

The Timms Review is that review, and is said to be examining how accurate and fair disability benefit assessments are, whether the system adequately supports claimants, how claimant stress and hardship can be reduced, and how trust in the system can be improved.

The Review has faced much criticism, namely that it is being done after the MPs were asked to vote on the Bill, that Minister Stephen Timms couldn’t be considered an ‘independent person’, as he backed the cuts, and a ‘call for evidence’ does not carry the same value as a consultation in terms of co-production.

The Review is now asking for people to share their lived experience of PIP. The main areas of focus are:

How effectively PIP is delivering on its intended purpose
Whether the PIP assessment provides fair access to the right support
Whether the experience of claiming PIP varies for different groups
How the changes in the workplace and wider society since 2013 have impacted PIP.

You don’t have to respond to all of these prompts or provide any evidence other than written responses, but you can submit additional evidence to timmsreview.callforevidence@dwp.gov.uk.

You can respond to the call for evidence here. There is a limit of 4,000 characters for each of the main boxes, equivalent to about 600-700 words. If you need an alternative format, you can request it at timmsreview.callforevidence@dwp.gov.uk

The Call for Evidence runs until 11.59 pm on 28 May 2026.

Equal Lives Campaign Team