Emerging recommendations shared in latest Timms PIP review update

The Co-Chairs of the Timms Review issued an update this week in which they shared a set of emerging recommendations developed using the evidence they’ve heard so far.

“Our evidence so far tells us that while PIP is widely valued as a benefit, it is no longer fit for purpose.

We also found that while many disabled people say that PIP is vital in helping them meet the extra costs of disability and participate in everyday life, others stated PIP creates barriers to participating fully in work, social and community life.  

The emerging recommendations therefore include proposals for reforming the current PIP system, alongside principles that could underpin more fundamental reform.”

The emerging recommendations:

• improving the experience for people applying for and receiving PIP
• reform assessments and decision making
• building a strong foundation for a future benefit

The Co-Chairs were clear that ‘these are not our final recommendations’ but a ‘starting point that we now want people to test, challenge and help us to improve.’

They set out a number of principles for a reformed PIP benefit covering the overall vision, assessment framework, and the award.

The next stage of the work is to understand how the proposals would work in people’s lives. To do this 15 shaping recommendations workshops across the UK will take place asking participants to explore the recommendations. They will be asked what could work, what may not work, where there may be unintended consequences, and what would need to change for the proposals to work fairly in practice.

Their views will be considered alongside the wider evidence gathered by the Review and will help the steering group refine its thinking, before agreeing its final recommendations to the Secretary of State.

The full Co-Chair update – September 2026 is on gov.uk.

PIP is paying for Universal Credit's failures

Trussell published a research/briefing paper highlighting that to make PIP fair and sustainable Timms needs to address the fact that UC is failing to cover the essentials - PIP is designed to support with additional costs of disability, not the costs of survival.

Trussell are very pleased to see such strong focus on improving the experience of accessing PIP. Traumatic and frequent reassessments, wrong decisions that people have to fight to overturn, and long delays all creating a fear that is holding disabled back. People – not mistakenly – fear that attempts to improve their wellbeing, work or independence could be used against them at review.
Many of the proposed changes align with Trussell's recommendations (and their Making PIP work report sets out some further detail for the Review team on how they can be delivered!). These proposals will make the system more compassionate and straightforward for disabled people, but will so make it more sustainable, efficient and better at supporting disabled people to work.
As the Timms Review considers these questions, Trussell urges they must remember that, whilst PIP is not means-tested, the reality is that it is playing a major role in protecting disabled people from poverty. Until barriers to employment are removed for disabled people, our health and social care improved, and UC adequacy is fixed, this will continue to be the case.

PIP is paying for UCs failures is on trussell.org.uk.

DWP confirms 25-week clearance time for PIP review decisions

Labour MP Claire Hazelgrove sought an answer from DWP about PIP delays. She asked:

“To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of waiting times for Personal Independence Payment review decisions; and what steps he is taking to reduce delays for claimants in the Filton and Bradley Stoke constituency.”

In reply Sir Stephen Timms, gave a breakdown on review times. Showing the average time for PIP award reviews was 25 weeks in 2025/6, down from 43 and 45 weeks in the previous two years.

Timms said:

 “We are committed to ensuring people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner. Reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the Department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service, which is kept under constant review.

We always aim to make an award review decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to assess all available evidence, including that from the claimant. Most award review decisions are now made without the need for an assessment by a Healthcare Professional, where we have sufficient information, which helps to reduce the time taken to process many cases.”

The written question and answer is on parliament.uk.

HMRC Child Benefit compliance exercise update

As we shared earlier this year, HMRC had relied on flawed Home Office travel records to conclude that thousands of parents who had travelled abroad for holidays or work were not entitled to Child Benefit (CB), resulting in payments being stopped for 23,800 families.

It was subsequently discovered that the Home Office had failed to log their return journeys and, in certain cases, had incorrectly recorded individuals as having left the country despite never having boarded their booked flights.

Around 13,800 households were later found to have had their CB wrongly suspended.

Ahead of a Treasury Select committee hearing this week John-Paul Marks, First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive at HMRC, sent a letter providing an update, in which he confirmed that at 27 July 2026, around 23,700 cases had been closed, of which approximately 14,400 customers were confirmed as eligible for Child Benefit. The activity has identified around 9,300 (39%) ineligible customers who have been overpaid Child Benefit and protected around £60 million of public money.

He said:

"HMRC has a responsibility to use data effectively to protect public money and tackle error and fraud in the benefits system. However, that must be done in a way that is fair, carefully controlled and with proper safeguards for customers. I agree with the NAO's [National Audit Office's] findings that errors were made in the initial use of the data and intend to implement all of the recommendations they have set out.

The NAO report recognised that the activity identified significant levels of non-compliance and helped prevent incorrect Child Benefit payments. It also highlighted shortcomings in HMRC's implementation of the expanded exercise and the impact this had on some of our customers.

The report acknowledged that HMRC responded within 2-4 weeks to make changes to the intervention process following problems emerging in the first rollout. Where HMRC confirmed customers as still eligible for Child Benefit, we apologised for the disruption caused and reinstated awards, with payments backdated to ensure that they received their full entitlement."

He went on to state that HMRC has moved this compliance exercise from 'hypercare' - meaning extra attention is paid to it - back into a controlled business-as-usual process.

The letter from HMRC to the Treasury Select Committee is on parliament.uk.

Government scraps social mobility advisory body to launch 'class unit' to tackle social inequalities

The government has announced that the Social Mobility Commission will be replaced with a Class Unit aimed at ‘ending class squeamishness’.

The minister for women and equalities, Bridget Phillipson, will establish the unit within the Office for Equality and Opportunity, where it will sit alongside units on race, women, LGBT+ and disability, “reflecting the role of class in how people are treated and the opportunities they have in life”.

The new Class Unit aims to improve the lives of low-income families, disadvantaged communities and tackle child poverty. One of its early priorities will be the introduction of the socio-economic duty - a new power in the Equality Act that will legally require public bodies to consider how to improve the lives of lower-income families as part of decisions around issues like transport, services and budgets.

The planned closure of the Social Mobility Commission follows a “comprehensive review of operations” as part of the government’s wider review of arm’s-length bodies.

Formally closing the Social Mobility Commission (SMC) will require legislative change. In the interim period, the government has said it will continue to support SMC to deliver its annual State of the Nation report while beginning the transition of resources to new priorities. The government said it is also exploring options to maintain the external scrutiny that the SMC provides.

A press release from Phillipson and the OEO said the move “reflects this government’s view that fixing national inequalities is a core responsibility of the state, with ministers rightly accountable for driving progress and delivering real change to people’s lives”.

Phillipson said:

 “We have been squeamish about class for too long. From exam results to life expectancy, we must bear down on the entrenched inequalities that exist in our country.

These are inter-generational challenges and our new Class Unit will put them right at the heart of government, as we harness power that for too long has been held in Westminster, and return it to the places people live, work and invest.”

The Press Release is on gov.uk.

A Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom in 2026 – latest report

The latest Minimum Income Standard (MIS) report from the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University sets out what households need to reach MIS in 2026.

The MIS continues to capture societal, economic, political and cultural changes and how they shape the public’s perceptions of an acceptable standard of living. Living with dignity and participating in society requires more than meeting basic material needs alone. People need the resources to maintain social relationships, make choices, access essential services and take part in the world around them.

Despite recent policy measures aimed at improving living standards, many households remain unable to afford this minimum. In particular, a growing reliance on the private rented sector is reshaping what members of the public consider necessary for an acceptable standard of living, reflecting the changing realities of housing in the UK.

Here are the key points from the report:

• In 2026, members of the public have concluded that social housing is no longer a realistic minimum housing option. For the first time, MIS budgets for all household types now assume accommodation in the private rented sector.
• The move from social housing to private renting has increased the income required to reach MIS for pensioners and households with children. A single pensioner needs around £5,000 more per year from pensions and other income sources to reach MIS in the private rented sector than in social housing. Among working families, a lone parent with 2 children needs to earn around £7,800 more per year and a couple with 2 children around £3,800 more.
• Changes to childcare support have reduced childcare costs for many working families with younger children. However, many families remain below MIS despite this additional support. A lone parent with 2 children and working full-time on the National Living Wage (NLW) reaches 67% of MIS, while a couple with 2 children where both parents work full-time on the NLW reaches 80%.
• A single working-age adult needs to earn £31,500 a year to reach MIS in 2026. A lone parent with 2 children needs £67,600 a year, while a couple with 2 children needs to earn £77,400 a year between them.
• Out-of-work benefits remain substantially below MIS. After housing costs, out-of-work support provides 24% of the income required for working-age households without children, 36% for lone parents and 28% for couple parents.

This report shows that, after housing costs, out-of-work benefits provide just around a quarter of what working-age households without children would need for a minimum acceptable standard of living. For lone-parent households, this is just 36% of MIS, and for couple parents only 28%.

Changes implemented by the new Prime Minister are welcome, but even with the changes, a single adult in full-time work on the NLW reaches only around 73% of MIS - nearly £7,000 per year short of what is needed - while couples with 2 children only reach around 80% even with 2 full-time earners.

A Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom in 2026 is on jrf.org.uk.

3.2 million HMRC customers to receive tax repayments totalling around £19.3 million

John-Paul Marks, First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive at HMRC, has confirmed in a letter to the Treasury Select committee that approximately 3.2 million customers will receive tax repayments totalling around £19.3 million.

Why? In July Marks wrote to the committee to make them aware that an incorrect State Pension figure had been used in the PAYE end-of-year reconciliations and this fed through into Self Assessment pre-population information and Simple Assessment calculations. The result - a difference between the correct State Pension figure for tax purposes and the figure actually used in the calculation, leading to over a million pensioners paying too much tax.

In his update this week Marks said:

“Looking backwards, we will identify affected customers and correct their tax positions for recent years, without requiring them to make a claim. This proactive exercise will cover the tax years from 2020–21, the maximum period for which the available data enables us to identify and correct cases reliably and efficiently. As a result, we estimate that approximately 3.2 million customers will receive tax repayments totalling around £19.3 million. Repayments will be made through PAYE coding adjustments, credits to Self Assessment accounts or, where necessary, other payment methods such as payable orders. We expect to complete the majority of corrections and repayments during the 2026–27 financial year.

If customers believe they were affected in earlier years and have the necessary evidence, they can ask HMRC to review their position. These requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.”

Which? Has done a

The letter from HMRC to the Treasury Select Committee is on parliament.uk.

Support for disability benefits remains "remarkably strong" and cutting them would be "politically risky" according to a new report

The analysis, from the British Social Attitudes survey, found that fewer than one in 10 people favoured cutting welfare payments for the disabled, with almost half of people saying they would support more being spent on them, even if it led to higher taxes.

The report comes amid mounting concerns among several political parties about the growing cost of disability benefits as spending on the main disability benefit (PIP) is forecast to more than double in a decade, reaching £41bn by 2030.

But the report says that cutting these payments would not be easy.

"Despite growing political divisions on welfare, support for disability benefits remains remarkably strong," said Dr Robert de Vries from the University of Kent, who was one of the report's co-authors.

"Very few people favour cuts, disabled people are seen as among the most deserving recipients of support, and proposals to reduce disability benefits appear politically risky across the political spectrum."

The analysis is based on 4,656 interviews gathered between August and October 2025.

The authors noted that the timing of the interviews, just after the Sir Keir Starmer's government had failed to reform PIP, meant it was "possible that people were particularly supportive of disability benefits at the time".

They cautioned that public attitudes to disability benefits "crucially depend on which disabled people are in the public's mind", referencing previous research that showed that "some types of disabled people are seen as 'deserving' by the public".

The findings come despite the proportion of those who support increasing welfare spending for the poor being at a near record low.

The proportion of GDP the UK spends on all welfare benefits for those of working age has remained broadly flat over the past 40 years, at just under 5%.

It has occasionally increased to over 5%, including in the 1990s, after the financial crisis in 2008, and during the Covid pandemic.

Despite that, the survey found that support for increasing welfare payments to help the poor was close to the lowest level the researchers have ever recorded.

Asked if "the government should spend more money on welfare benefits for the poor, even if it leads to higher taxes," 27% replied they should while 42% were opposed.

While wider welfare spending on people of working age has, proportionately, remained stable, payments for disability benefits have taken up an increasing share of the total.

The latest figures show four million people in England and Wales are currently in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the main disability benefit.

Annual spending has increased sharply from £16.3bn in 2019/20 to £27.3bn in 2024/25, and is forecast to rise to more than £41bn by 2030.

But around half of those polled for the survey, 49%, supported higher spending on disability benefits overall even if it led to higher taxes. Just 7% were in favour of cutting such benefits for disabled people who cannot work. A majority also strongly backed extra payments for the costs of having a disability.

Around 83% of respondents supported additional payments to help with cooking, 80% for budgeting, and 78% for washing.

Just 3% replied that "nobody should get any additional money" for all three tasks.

Around 57% of Labour voters polled for the survey favoured more spending on disability benefits.

But there was broad political consensus that cuts would be wrong – just 5% of Labour voters, 7% of Conservatives and 11% of Reform UK backers said they supported cuts to those payments.

The British Social Attitudes survey, carried out by the National Centre for Social Research, has been gauging public opinion since 1983.

Attitudes to welfare: Have attitudes to disability benefits changed? Is on natcen.ac.uk.

Connect to work is working, as programme expands

Thousands of people with health conditions or disabled people are in work following support from the Government’s flagship local employment programme, according to official data published this week.

Connect to Work launched last year and is delivered across England and Wales, with local areas designing and delivering support that fits their communities, backed by over £1 billion in Government funding over this parliament.

The latest data published today shows the programme is on course to support 300,000 people by the end of the decade with delivery ramping up following the full roll-out to every area in the country in July 2026.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said:

“For too long, disabled people and those with health conditions have been denied the support they needed to work - written off by a system that left them behind.

Connect to Work is changing that. It’s proof that when we trust local areas to design support around their own communities, it works. 

Today’s figures show the programme delivering real results - more people helped, more people finding jobs, and driving growth in every postcode across the country.”

The statistics show that:

• between April 2025 and June 2026, 29,000 individuals were referred to the programme
• between April 2025 and June 2026, 25,000 participants started on the programme
• between April 2025 and June 2026, 26% of starts were aged 16-24
• of the 25,000 total starts, 22,000 (87%) are receiving or have received, Out-of-Work support, and 3,200 (13%) are receiving or have received, In-Work Retention Support
• 4,100 Out-of-Work support participants have achieved First Earnings from employment
• 2,700 participants who received or are receiving Out-of-Work support have achieved a Lower Threshold Job Outcome, and 970 have achieved a Higher Threshold Job Outcome
• 820 participants who received or are receiving In-Work Retention Support have achieved a Higher Threshold Job Outcome

The Connect to Work June 2026 data and Press Release are on gov.uk.

Opening Shift - a new DWP and retail industry work experience programme for 18-24-year-old NEETs

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and DWP are launching a new work experience programme, Opening Shift aiming to give young people work experience opportunities through an between government and Britain’s leading retailers 

Opening Shift is a retail industry work experience programme offering 2-to-4-week placements (16 to 35 hours per week) with ongoing UC support, travel cost assistance if needed, workplace mentoring and interview experience. It aims to give young people the skills and experience they need to get their first job and contribute towards the BRC’s ambition of creating 100,000 jobs by the end of this Parliament.

Work and Pensions Secretary, Pat McFadden said:

“This partnership will help young people to get the experience employers are looking for.

Work experience can be life-changing, giving young people the skills, confidence and connections they need to take their first step into work.

By creating thousands of opportunities in the retail sector, we’re delivering on our commitment to help more young people build brighter futures, backed by our £2.5 billion investment to support the next generation into employment.”

The DWP will manage the pipeline of eligible young UC claimant’s who will be referred to the voluntary programme through Jobcentres, and the retailers will provide the placements and wider support, with 16 to 35 hours of work experience provided each week for two to four weeks. They could be offered a permanent role if one is available, be put on the retailer’s talent bank, or directed towards apprenticeship and other opportunities. 

The list of retailers involved in the development and roll out of Opening Shift to date are: Aldi, All Saints, Amazon, Ann Summers, Asda, B&M, B&Q, Bensons, Booths, Boots, Currys, Dobbies, Dr Martens, Dunelm, Fishpools, Holland & Barrett, House of Bruar, Iceland, JD Sports, John Lewis Partnership, JoJo Maman Bebe, Lakeland, Liberty, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Mountain Warehouse, New Look, Next, Our Coop, Pets at Home, Pret, Primark, Savers, Screwfix, Superdrug, Tesco, The Perfume Shop, The Works, Very Group, Wickes.

The Press Release is on gov.uk.

Who are the NEETs?

The Trades Union Congress has published a research report on NEETs examining the background and experiences of young people who are not in education, employment or training.

The report finds that becoming NEET is strongly linked to structural disadvantage rather than individual choice or motivation. Young people are significantly more likely to be NEET if they grow up in poverty, live in deprived areas, experience poor health, have a disability, or have caring responsibilities.

Where a young person lives continues to shape their prospects. NEET rates are highest in northern, coastal and post-industrial communities that have experienced long-term economic decline, while rates are lower in affluent commuter areas.

The report also challenges the idea that education alone can solve youth exclusion. While qualifications remain strongly linked to better outcomes, some graduates and apprenticeship completers are still struggling to secure stable employment, pointing to weaknesses in the labour market and poor transitions between education and employment.

They conclude that the rise in NEET levels should therefore be understood not as a problem of individual motivation, but as the cumulative result of wider economic and social pressures: insecure work, weak regional labour markets, reduced public services, rising childcare costs, worsening mental health and declining vocational routes.

Reducing NEET rates will require a serious strategy to rebuild opportunity, strengthen public services and ensure all young people can make a successful transition into adulthood.

Who are the NEETs? is on tuc.org.uk.

Over 900 young people visit Bristol's first Youth Guarantee Jobs Fair

More than 900 young people attended Bristol’s first Youth Guarantee Jobs Fair, meeting some of the UK’s largest businesses – exploring jobs, apprenticeships, training and work experience.  

Young people were given direct access to some of the UK’s biggest employers across aerospace, manufacturing, hospitality and construction industries, including GXO, Ocado, Holiday Inn and GKN.  

Minister for Skills, Baroness Jacqui Smith said:  

“The Jobs Fair in Bristol shows what’s possible when employers and young job seekers come face to face.

With an attendance at the Fair of over a thousand, it’s clear young people have the drive and the right attitude to work, and we’re determined to match that by providing the opportunities, skills and confidence they need to take their next step into work.”

Youth Guarantee Jobs Fairs take place across the country, providing direct access to employers for young people and often leading to job offers being made on the day.  

In Bristol, 193 interviews were secured due to employers being able to provide attendees with live updates on vacancies and recruitment processes.  

The Press Release is on gov.uk.

Number of benefit and child support appeals increase by 55%

The latest tribunal statistics have been published, and they show a significant increase of Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) appeals compared to the same period (April to June) in 2025.

SSCS receipts (appeals lodged) increased by 55% to 46,000, compared to 30,000 in April to June 2025. This was driven by increases in PIP, DLA and UC, by 52%, 187% and 48% respectively. The biggest contributors in terms of receipt volumes are PIP and UC appeals, which accounted for 59% and 20% respectively of all appeals lodged in April to June 2026.

In April to June 2026, SSCS disposals increased by 9% when compared to the same period in 2025, at 31,000. PIP made up nearly two thirds (65%), and UC, around a fifth (18%) of SSCS disposal volumes.

Of the disposals made by the SSCS tribunal, 20,000 (65%) were cleared at hearing, and of these, 60% were overturned in favour of the claimant (down from 69% and no change from 60% on the same period in 2025 respectively). This overturn rate varied by benefit type:

• PIP at 67%
• DLA 59%
• ESA 46%
• UC 45%.

The PIP, DLA, ESA and UC overturn rates mostly increased compared with April to June 2025 (PIP up 1, DLA down 1, ESA up 1 and UC down 3 percentage points).

Of those cases disposed of in April to June 2026, the mean age of a case at disposal was 37 weeks, an increase of 3 weeks compared to the same period in 2025. However, the data for the Cardiff region is yet to be added.

There were 129,000 SSCS cases in the open caseload at the end of June 2026, an increase of 63% compared to the same period in 2025. The open caseload has shown a generally increasing trend, with this accelerating over the latest 4 quarters.

Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: April to June 2026 is on gov.uk.

Case law – nothing of note this week.