31 October 2025
Today, 31 October 2025, the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has responded to the Government’s announcement that the first-ever full review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), or the Timms Review, will be led by disabled people.
Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE, Associate Director at Think Local Act Personal, and Sharon Brennan, previously Director of Policy and External Affairs at National Voices, have been appointed as co-chairs, alongside the Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms. The Government has also launched a recruitment process for its wider steering group.
The Government launched the Timms Review to ensure that PIP is fair and empowers disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment.
The Timms Review is an opportunity to ensure that PIP can support disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to live with independence, dignity and choice. PIP must be underpinned by the principles of fairness and equality, with assessment and decision-making processes that are consistent and transparent.
SCIE welcomes the appointment of Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE and Sharon Brennan to the Review. Reform can’t be effective if it’s removed from the realities of people with lived experiences; it must instead recognise and respect their invaluable expertise and place them at the very centre of all conversations and decisions.
At SCIE, co-production with people with lived experience informs all that we do. We look forward to supporting the co-chairs and the wider steering group to drive meaningful change.
Kathryn Marsden OBE
Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)
About SCIE
The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge and evidence about what works in practice. We are a leading independent social care charity working with organisations that support adults, families and children across the UK.
If you have any questions regarding this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Molly Pennington, Press and Media Relations Officer, at molly.pennington@scie.org.uk