The points-based assessment system used to decide who gets disability benefits is “broken” and set to be replaced following a landmark Government review into personal independence payments (PIP).
Ministers have signalled that the current system is no longer fit for purpose and faces a “radical” overhaul as it “dehumanises” disabled people, while creating barriers to them participating in work or engaging with the system because of concerns about assessments.
The co-chairs of the Timms Review – commissioned to ensure the benefit which supports disabled people to live independently is fair – said the PIP assessment process is “broken” and “bold” reforms are needed.
Speaking to The i Paper, disability minister Sir Stephen Timms described the current assessment process as “demeaning and dehumanising”, adding it is “entirely possible that we will come up with a completely different way of assessing eligibility for PIP”.
Timms, who is co-chairing the review, said the new system is likely to be “radically different”, with the final recommendations due this autumn. They will be shaped by a 12-person steering group that includes panellists with lived experiences of disability.
