Disability benefits 'not fit for purpose' and assessments 'dehumanising', new report finds

Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are "not fit for purpose" and can create barriers to work, while the assessment process can be "dehumanising", a new report found.

PIP is money given to people, including some of whom are in work, who have extra care or mobility needs as a result of a disability.

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The interim review of the Timms report found that PIP, established in 2013 by David Cameron's government, is not working as intended and can prevent disabled people from fully participating in work or social life.

It particularly acts as a barrier for people with fluctuating conditions, less visible conditions, or multiple conditions, the report said.

As many as 9 in 10 respondents to the review viewed the criteria used to assess their claim as negative - describing the process as "dehumanising", "degrading" and "stressful" - with low levels of trust in the system.

It also said the use of supporting evidence when deciding claims was inconsistent.

However, the report also found that many see it as vital to help them meet the extra costs associated with disability, and to allow them to participate in everyday life.

More than 38,000 people responded to the review's call for evidence, making it the largest co-produced review ever undertaken by government.

The review, led by social security minister Sir Stephen Timms, was commissioned last June as part of a climbdown by the government over changes it wanted to make to the welfare system to try and rein in its ballooning cost.

The government wanted to change the points system used to determine a person's ability to do certain activities, which influences how much money they will receive.

But in order to starve off a rebellion by Labour backbenchers, ministers agreed not to make any changes to PIP until after the Timms review reported.

Recommendations based on the review's findings are set to be published in the autumn.

As per the review's terms of reference, those recommendations will have to include keeping PIP financially sustainable.

Spending on health and disability benefits for working-age adults was £58.2bn in 2024/25 - but is forecast to rise to £81.5bn by 2030/31, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.

That's due to more and more people claiming disability benefits, mostly related to mental health and behavioural conditions.

A quarter of working-age people report living with a disability - around 10 million people - with that only set to rise in the coming years.

In 2013, when PIP was established, that was under 17%.

There were 4.01 million Pip claimants in April 2026, according to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data published in June - up 7% in a year and roughly double the number since comparable figures began seven years ago in January 2019, when the total stood at 2.05 million.

Of those, 1.56 million were listed as having psychiatric disorders, or 39%, the highest proportion for any type of disability.

The Timms report notes that numbers reporting mental health conditions and autism have "increased significantly" since 2009.

Timms said that "this interim report delivers a clear message: while PIP is widely valued as a benefit, it is not working as intended and needs fundamental change".

But the Conservatives' Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately said Labour was "in denial about the welfare state".

"The Timms Review rules out making any savings: worse, it makes the doubling of the PIP bill by the end of the decade inevitable. And it does nothing to tackle abuse of the system," she added.

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David Finch, an interim director at the Health Foundation, said that any reforms to "support a sustainable system should avoid past mistakes of using tighter eligibility rules as a blunt tool to control costs - this can worsen outcomes and increase pressure on other public services.

"Spending pressures have also built up due to inadequate support in other parts of the benefits system and public services," he said.

The review will sit alongside the Milburn review, which found in May that the "rising tide of mental ill health, anxiety, depression and neurodiversity" is leaving more than one million 16 to 24 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Both reviews will publish their final reports in the autumn.

(c) Sky News 2026: Disability benefits 'not fit for purpose' and assessments 'dehumanising', new report finds