UK: Timms Review must give disabled people the support they need - not ‘sticking plaster reform’

In response to the interim findings of The Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment released today, Jen Clark, Amnesty International UK’s Economic and Social Rights Lead, said:

"Any reform of PIP should not be a cost cutting exercise, it must strengthen dignity, improve support and be shaped through meaningful co-production with disabled people and their organisations.

“Disabled people have been saying for years that the system around PIP is inaccessible, distressing and harmful - frequently failing to reflect both the realities and the additional costs of living with a disability or long-term health condition.

"We welcome the fact that ministers now appear to recognise that the system is broken.

“What matters now is what happens next. This review must mark the start of a new chapter in supporting disabled people to live independently, not become another sticking plaster reform that leaves a fundamentally flawed system intact. Social security should support people's rights, dignity and active participation in society, not be used as a tool of coercion."