Articles in PIP and the DWP

Articles in Benefits

A blue and yellow infographic. On the left is a picture of a disabled woman in a power wheelchair. She is laughing into the camera. On the right is the headline "Timms Review", and the following text in white: "BuDS has stepped in to help make sure that the voice of ordinary disabled people is heard loud and clear by the Timms Review". Below the text is the blue and yellow BuDS logo.

Responding To The Timms Review

Ben Clark

The Government have decided to review Personal Independence Payment (PIP). This page is designed to help disabled people understand this Review and contribute to it.

Why Is This Review Happening?

In the summer of 2025, the Government introduced legislation to cut PIP so that fewer disabled people would be able to claim it. However, many MPS said they would not support this plan and so the Government said that no cuts would be made to PIP until after PIP had been ‘fully reviewed’.

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A screenshot of the Pathways to Work Green Paper homepage on the .gov.uk website.

Speak Out About Proposed Disability Benefit Cuts

Ben Clark

The Government has proposed cutting £5 billion from disability benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and the health component of Universal Credit (UC).

The Government is still consulting about these changes, and there is a great deal of opposition to them in Parliament and the country. The voice of disabled people needs to be heard loud and clear about these proposed cuts.

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Stock photograph of an older Asian woman wearing a pink day-dress. She is standing up from a shower seat, and holding onto a rail.

Changes To Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

Ben Clark

The Government have published a consultation paper (a “Green Paper”) about changes to disability and sickness benefits. One of the changes proposed is to make it far more difficult to qualify for Personal Independence Payment (PIP). This article explains how the Government proposes to make it more difficult to qualify, and how that might affect different groups of disabled people applying for PIP in the future.

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DWP’s Own Audits Show One Third of PIP Assessments Not Fit For Purpose

Ben Clark

A third of ATOS assessment reports are not fit for purpose, according to the DWP’s own quality assurance auditors. In a sample of 1,466 PIP assessments carried out in August 2022, DWP auditors found that:

  • 972 reports (66%) were acceptable, which means they met the DWP’s contract requirements
  • 138 (9%) of reports met the contract requirements but it was clear from the assessment report that the ATOS assessor ‘required learning’
  • 321 (22%) of reports met the contract requirements but ‘required amending’ to improve their accuracy and completeness
  • 35 (2%) were found not to even meet the DWP’s contract requirement.
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