The Government has launched the Timms Review “to ensure that PIP is fair and fit for the future in a changing world”. The Review is co-chaired by Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE.
In 2025, Carers UK gathered evidence from more than 740 unpaid carers about the importance of PIP to their household income and wellbeing. We reference these findings throughout our submission.
- Carers UK urges the Timms Review to adopt a whole-family approach to PIP reform. PIP does not operate in isolation: it supports disabled people directly while also underpinning the financial stability of millions of unpaid carers through linked entitlements such as Carer’s Allowance and the Universal Credit carer element.
- PIP must continue to meet the additional costs associated with disability and long-term health conditions and support independent living and participation in society. Reform should not reduce overall support to disabled people and carers.
- Because entitlement to the Daily Living component acts as the gateway to carers’ benefits, changes to PIP eligibility can have significant consequences for unpaid carers, household finances and poverty levels. Previous proposals to tighten eligibility would have resulted in around 150,000 carers losing Carer’s Allowance entitlement.
- Restricting access to PIP does not remove support needs. Instead, it transfers costs onto unpaid carers, the NHS and social care services, often at greater long-term cost.
- The current system relies too heavily on unpaid carers to navigate complex assessments, mandatory reconsiderations and appeals in order to secure correct decisions. Reform should prioritise accurate first-time decision making, better use of existing evidence and transparent communication.
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Disabled households continue to face substantial additional living costs, while carers are twice as likely as the general population to experience poverty. PIP payment levels and eligibility criteria should reflect the real costs associated with disability, long-term conditions and caring responsibilities.
- Reforms should improve accessibility, fairness and administrative efficiency, including greater recognition of evidence from carers, more flexible assessment formats and better access to independent advice and support.
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Reforms should improve decision quality – for example, through greater use of medical evidence and recognition of carers’ input – rather than pushing claimants and their carers into lengthy appeals. Currently about two-thirds of PIP appeals succeed, imposing extra stress and delay on families.