A cross-party group of MPs has urged the government not to reduce access to personal independence payment (PIP), warning that doing so would only place greater strain on other services.
The message came in a letter from Labour MP Debbie Abrahams, chair of the Commons work and pensions committee, addressed to Sir Stephen Timms, minister co-chairing the ongoing Timms Review into PIP.
Concerns over proposed PIP reforms
The Timms Review is currently consulting through workshops on draft recommendations aimed at reforming PIP. However, there is growing concern that ministers may be considering cuts to some cash payments within the benefit.
Earlier in the month, analysis of the British Social Attitudes Survey found that the public — including supporters of right-wing parties — remains strongly opposed to cuts in spending on disability benefits.
In her letter, Abrahams reminds Sir Stephen that the work and pensions committee had previously concluded that spending on PIP has risen due to “rising ill health, financial insecurity, disabled people’s exclusion from work and gaps in public services, particularly NHS mental health provision.”
She cautions that “cutting PIP would further increase pressure on other services,” highlighting the interconnected nature of disability support systems.
Warnings from previous reports
Abrahams also references a committee report from last year that challenged government plans to cut PIP spending, which were eventually dropped following widespread opposition. The report questioned whether these proposed reductions were pursued without sufficient evidence about the purpose of PIP, the impact on claimants, and potential unintended consequences.
That 2025 letter warned that cuts to disability and incapacity benefits risked pushing people “deeper into poverty, worsen[ing] health, especially in more deprived areas, and mov[ing] people further from the labour market.”
The letter was written during a period when Sir Keir Starmer’s government attempted to implement significant PIP cuts but withdrew them in response to protests from disabled people, allies, and Labour backbenchers alike.
Concerns over co-production and transparency
The latest letter, published shortly after the government released draft recommendations from the PIP review, also expresses worry about how the review has handled co-production — involving disabled people in decision-making.
Abrahams notes that the review “fails to ensure that its disabled members have shared power in decision-making.” She asks Sir Stephen for details on how the review has included disabled people with different impairments, conditions, ethnic backgrounds, age groups, and locations, as well as how it has engaged organisations of varying sizes representing disabled people.
She urges the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to build on this experience and embed co-production “at the heart of policy making and operational delivery.”
Calls for clarity on assessment changes
The letter also questions why the review’s draft recommendations did not include proposed changes to PIP assessment criteria and descriptors — areas where ministers are most likely to reveal whether and how they plan to reduce future spending on PIP.
Sir Stephen Timms is expected to respond to the committee by 16 October.
Cutting PIP would only increase pressure on other services, MPs warn minister, Disability News Service, 24 September 2026