Equity gives a ‘cautious welcome’ to today’s Timms Review Interim Report, and urges the recommendations – due in the autumn – to “change the narrative on health and disability support away from continued cuts and towards tangibly improving the system for those who rely on it.”
The interim report of the Timms Review of PIP (Personal Independent Payments) has found that the current system is inadequate, ‘dehumanising’ and contributes to low trust. The co-authors have a simple message: “PIP is not working”, and Equity agrees.
Equity Head of Policy Tom Peters said: “We give a cautious welcome to today’s report – it states important testimony of the failings of the current system, but the big questions of what replaces it are yet to be addressed. None of the findings in the Interim Report will be a surprise to Equity’s members or to all those who have interacted with PIP processes. It will also not be surprising that the review has heard that PIP is an essential form of support for many Disabled people.
“Equity welcomes that the review is recognising the serious flaws in the PIP system and Disabled people have unfairly landed in the centre of a misinformed debate about ‘spiralling’ welfare spend. We urge the steering group to reflect this in its recommendations, recognising that this review is an opportunity to change the narrative on health and disability support away from continued cuts and towards tangibly improving the system for those who rely on it.”
In their foreword, the co-chairs say “We are committed to making changes so that PIP can fulfil its purpose for disabled people and those with long-term conditions, both now and into the future” and say that it will be necessary to be “radical” and “bold”.
