On 5th February, the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) announced that it had appointed 12 members to its steering group to co-produce a new strategy for PIP. While this is a positive step toward genuine co-production, the steering group does not include anyone with lived experience of a learning disability, leaving the perspectives of people with learning disabilities underrepresented in the strategy.
Below is our open letter to MPs to address this matter.
Dear MPs,
We are writing on behalf of Cloverleaf Advocacy, an organisation that has supported people with learning disabilities across the North of England for over 30 years.
Last year, we shared with you our response to the proposed benefit reforms, and we are reaching out again following the recent update from the Department for Work and Pensions regarding the formation of the steering group panel.
The correspondence issued online by the Department of Work and Pensions on the 5th of February 2026 states:
“The review will be led by the Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms, and be coproduced with disabled people, along with the organisations that represent them, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. The review will ultimately report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for final decisions.”
While we are pleased to see an emphasis being placed on co-production, we are concerned that no one on the steering panel has lived experience of a learning disability. Although there are some very eminent people on the steering panel, the specific voice of people with learning disabilities risks being lost amid the competing needs of those with physical disabilities.
People with learning disabilities are often overlooked by these groups due to assumptions about their ability to contribute. However, many of our services run co-produced projects and consistently find that many people with learning disabilities have significant expertise to share. Their input has been invaluable in shaping our work and demonstrates the depth of insight that can be contributed when given the opportunity.
It is important that people with lived experience of a learning disability have the opportunity to shape future PIP assessments as the current assessment is fundamentally skewed towards people with physical disabilities. The points system is too nuanced for many people with learning disabilities to evidence their needs accurately.
For example, a person with a learning disability may be able to cook a meal but may require repeated verbal prompts and support to do so safely. While carrying out the task successfully is a major achievement, the PIP process tends to view this in a black-and-white way, focusing on what a person “cannot do” rather than recognising the support required to achieve the activity.
Without representation from people with a learning disability on the steering group, the review risks missing the unique perspectives of those it is intended to support and undermines the principle of meaningful coproduction.
We urge you to ensure that people with learning disabilities are represented in the Timms Review steering group. True coproduction cannot occur without their voices, and failing to include them would be a lost opportunity for an assessment process that is genuinely inclusive and reflective of lived experience.
Thank you for considering our concerns and for continuing to support your constituents with learning disabilities. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further at your convenience.
Yours sincerely,
Cloverleaf Advocacy
