In response to the co-chair update and emerging recommendations from the Timms Review released today, Jen Clark, Amnesty International UK’s Economic and Social Rights Lead, said:
“It is welcome that the review has once again acknowledged what disabled people have long been saying: that the current PIP assessment and decision-making process is stressful and dehumanising. There are some genuinely positive proposals here, including improved advocacy services, a commitment to more respectful communication, and the removal of unnecessary award reviews.
“However, these positive steps cannot be viewed in isolation from the wider reality facing disabled people in the UK. The Government caused huge anxiety when it proposed cuts to PIP last year, and only reversed course after tireless campaigning and a hard-won backbench rebellion. In the aftermath, the Timms Review was meant to lay the foundations for a social security system built on dignity and respect. The emerging recommendations currently do little to reassure people that aspirations and principles will be delivered in practice.”
Rick Burgess, Chair of Amnesty International UK’s Disabled People’s Human Rights Network said:
“The Timms review has been conducted at pace and without the meaningful co-production many disabled people were promised. While the emerging recommendations point in a positive direction, they leave major questions unanswered. Too many rely on vague commitments to ‘develop a process’, ‘review’ existing practices, or ‘make changes’ at some point in the future. For disabled people who shared their experiences in good faith and have waited anxiously for the outcome, that lack of clarity risks prolonging uncertainty and undermining trust.
“And while progress towards a more humane PIP system should be welcomed, we cannot ignore the wider picture. Disabled people continue to face disproportionately high levels of poverty, and cuts to the Universal Credit health element have put many in an even worse situation and often unable to make ends meet. Reforming PIP is only one piece of the puzzle. The Government must match promises of dignity with action on poverty and show disabled people the respect that has too often been missing from these reforms.”