Applications are now open to people who wish to join the Timms review steering group.
The government wants to appoint 12 people to the group and is aiming for the majority to be disabled people. They say they are “particularly interested to hear from people who are involved with disabled people’s organisations, recognising their unique role in amplifying disabled voices.”
Members are required to commit five days a month to the work.
Payment is £300 a day plus expenses, which will include travel expenses and subsistence
The closing date for applications 30 November 2025.
Essential criteria for applicants are:
- Knowledge, experience or expertise of disability, long-term health conditions and/or social security-related issues.
- Experience being involved in strategic engagement on matters relating to disability, long-term health conditions or social security-related issues.
- Experience engaging, supporting or working with disabled people and/or people with long-term health conditions, and/or understanding the issues and barriers they face.
- Commitment to working collaboratively and inclusively with people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
- Ability to evaluate evidence from a range of sources, including qualitative and quantitative data.
- Ability to engage with complex policy issues, including difficult trade-offs and financial decisions.
Here at Benefits and Work, we can’t help feeling that the requirement to have been “involved in strategic engagement on matters relating to disability, long-term health conditions or social security-related issues” may rule out a great many prospective applicants.
In fact, we had to look up what “strategic engagement” meant and we’re still not entirely sure we could define it. We’d be happy to have readers suggestions and examples below the line.
Applicants are required to write a 500 word statement how you meet the essential criteria and why you would like to be a member of the Timms Review steering group.
If you are considered for final selection you will be contacted by the Department or co-chairs to discuss your experience and why you want to take part in more detail. This will be an informal conversation, not an interview.
No feedback will be given to those who are not successful.
For those appointed, there will be a general obligation to maintain the confidentiality of information shared in confidence, but there does not appear to be any intention to impose a more stringent gagging clause of any sort.
What is certain, however, is that the steering committee will have very little time to make changes that will affect the lives of millions of people.
As the closing date for applications is 30 November, then there is little prospect of a committee being appointed and getting to work before the new year. But it is still the DWP’s intention that the review will be completed by Autumn 2026, with an interim report produced before that.
This means a maximum of around 55 days – just 11 working weeks – for the committee to potentially transform the way that PIP works and who is eligible for it.
We’d be very interested to hear from readers on whether they plan to apply or not and what their reasons are.
Links to details of how to apply and an expression of interest form can be found on this page.
