On 8 June 2026, the Department for Work and Pensions published a new 'Workshop in a Box' for the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment. The pack is intended to help organisations run local sessions with disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, then return the findings to the review team by 17 July. (gov.uk) The release follows the closure of the Review’s formal Call for Evidence on 28 May 2026. DWP said that exercise drew 38,000 responses, and presented the workshop route as the next stage in gathering more detailed qualitative evidence. (gov.uk)
The workshop material is organised around three themes: what PIP is for, what it is like to apply, and how decisions are made. Those questions map closely to the Review’s wider remit, which includes the role of PIP, the assessment criteria, the use of evidence alongside the functional assessment, and how the system gives access to the right level of support. (gov.uk) That alignment is important. It means the sessions are being used as evidence collection on the parts of the system most likely to affect future recommendations on entitlement, assessment design and administration. This is an inference based on the published workshop themes and the Review’s terms of reference. (gov.uk)
Access to the toolkit has been opened widely. DWP said any organisation willing to host a session can take part, including Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations, disability and health charities, community groups and elected representatives, while the material can also be adapted for carers, advisers and others with relevant knowledge of PIP. (gov.uk) For delivery partners, the timetable is tight. Information sessions on how to run the workshop are due on 10 and 16 June 2026, and hosts that want their findings to feed directly into the steering group’s recommendations must submit insights by 17 July 2026. (gov.uk)
The department has also signalled an attempt to widen participation beyond people who are comfortable with formal government consultations. Sharon Brennan said the method is intended to reach people whose views are heard less often, and DWP said it has approached a small number of organisations for financial support to run accessible workshops with underrepresented communities. (gov.uk) That design choice matters because the method of evidence collection will shape the strength of the final recommendations. Where a review depends on trust, accessibility and community reach, intermediary organisations can affect which experiences enter the record. This second point is an inference drawn from the government’s stated emphasis on trusted organisations, accessibility and equitable access. (gov.uk)
'Workshop in a Box' is one strand within a broader review programme. DWP said the Review is also using existing data and research, new quantitative survey work, expert evidence sessions and later deliberative events, with an interim report due in the coming months. (gov.uk) This suggests the workshop evidence will sit alongside formal submissions and commissioned research rather than replace them. In policy terms, the value of the sessions is likely to be in adding local detail, claimant experience and practical examples to the wider evidence base. This is an inference based on the published engagement plan. (gov.uk)
The Timms Review itself was launched in October 2025 and is due to report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in autumn 2026, with outcomes to be reported to Parliament. Its published terms of reference state that the work is being co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, carers, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders. (gov.uk) The wider significance lies in scale and system design. PIP supports nearly four million people in England and Wales, and the terms of reference say the benefit has never previously had a full review. They also say that, after the planned removal of the Work Capability Assessment, PIP is intended to become the future single gateway for health-related and disability benefits. (gov.uk)
For disability organisations, local authorities, advisers and elected representatives, the new toolkit creates a short operational window to gather evidence in a structured format and place it into a live review process. For officials and ministers, it offers a way to compare community-based evidence with the material already submitted through the closed call for evidence. This second sentence is an inference from the sequence of the Review’s evidence-gathering stages. (gov.uk) The next markers are now fixed: host briefing sessions on 10 and 16 June 2026, submission of workshop insights by 17 July 2026, an interim report in the coming months, and final recommendations in autumn 2026. The terms of reference state that any resulting changes could require primary legislation, secondary legislation or non-legislative action, which is why this engagement phase has consequences beyond stakeholder management alone. (gov.uk)