Exclusive - Inside the Timms Review Workshops
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a form of social security, that helps to cover the additional things Disabled people require to live fully with our impairments and conditions.
The Timms review is exploring how PIP works. The review is holding workshops for Disabled people to contribute their views on new proposals.
It is rumoured that over 4500 people applied to attend. One Campaign for Disability Justice supporter secured a place, and agreed to share their personal experience of the session to give more people an insight into what is happening.
As you’ll see, they point out that the devil is in the detail and we await further clarity in the final report. Here at the Campaign for Disability Justice, we have already raised our concerns about “cost categories” that could over-simplify and underestimate the additional costs of disability; and awards partly consisting of “services and other non-cash support”.
Their account is below.
"Last week I was one of 300 Disabled people selected to look at the Government's recommendations about the future of PIP.
The 3.9 million people who claim PIP will be represented by people like me, at 15 workshops across the UK. We all applied for a place and were randomly selected to attend.
There was a representative cross-section of PIP clientele in the room. Wheelchair users, deaf-blind people, people living with mental health conditions, and people with visual impairments. Carers and assistants attended with us.
The day was an emotional roller coaster. For many, accessing PIP was not so much a "journey", but a series of accidents to navigate, and an intimidating process.
The issue of assessments and the assessors was discussed in depth. The view in the room was that there is a kind of "poverty" in the assessment process. It is not a joined-up system, but many unhappy phone contacts and dehumanising procedures. The DWP is seen as a hostile environment.
And what of the future? We went through the recommendations in small groups. Overall, we approve of them, but only conditionally. The principles look good on paper, but the devil is potentially in the detail.
Disabled people lack trust in the Government to deliver the changes that all agree are necessary.
What are the new "pathways" that we will use in our new journey through the process of PIP?
Will people with life-long conditions be given reduced reassessments as promised?
Will we see what people in the room wanted most - Case Workers trained and appointed to give proper human contact, guiding and advocating throughout the process?
It’s a slow process. Humanising PIP requires dedicated personnel, trained with a proper career path and expertise. Substantially changing the rules used to award PIP points needs to be agreed by Parliament – it’s primary legislation.
The recommendations seem to be a step in the right direction. More humane language and procedures. A more nuanced style in assessment, better trained assessors. But the devil is in the details, and we don't have them yet.
We all want to see the details in the next few months. The report of the Steering Group regarding the Timms Review will be published in November.
In the large conference room, everyone hoped that the future will be much better than it is now. The lived experience of accessing PIP had been negative for most of us there. We hope for the future, but that hope is conditional.”
Do you like this page?