UK disabled people could swap Pip cash for ‘in kind’ support in benefit overhaul

Exclusive: Claimants could trade part of payment for specialist equipment, services or training under proposal

Some disabled people could receive “in kind” support rather than just cash payments under a radical overhaul of the personal independence payment (Pip) proposed by official government advisers, the Guardian can reveal.

The proposal, from an expert committee largely made up of disabled people, is one of a number of striking “emerging recommendations” likely to form the basis of the government’s Timms review of Pip , expected to be published in the next two months.

Rather than automatically receive weekly cash payments, currently between £30.30 and £194.60 depending on need, some claimants could instead swap part of the cash award for specialist equipment and aids, services, or skills and training.

Pip would remain non-means-tested, but while cash would remain “the foundation” of the award, the idea that claimants would be offered the choice of practical rather than just financial support marks a potentially radical departure in welfare policy.

The committee does not address the costs of Pip – currently about £23bn a year – and does not discuss potential cuts in spending, although it acknowledges its reforms must stay within current Pip spending projections of £41bn a year by 2029.

Although political and media debate has focused on the affordability of increases in Pip spending, the committee has focused primarily on improving people’s experience of Pip and better supporting ill and disabled people to participate in every day life.

Introducing a fast-track process to allow new claimants with a terminal illness to claim Pip more speedily – and reducing the number of benefit reassessments for people with lifelong or degenerative conditions.

Reviewing strict and “unnecessarily stressful” rules that suspend an individual’s Pip award automatically after they have spent more than 28 consecutive days in hospital.

Improving the way Pip assesses fluctuating issues such as mental illness to adequately capture the impact of conditions that vary over time.

While Pip is vital to help disabled people meet the extra costs of disability, it should also support individuals to live independently and help give them choice, dignity and control over their lives, the committee says.

Pip should be tailored more closely to individuals’ needs and requirements, offering a wider range of support to help them achieve “participation and opportunity across every day life” including work, care and volunteering, it adds.

The 12-strong committee of expert advisers, the majority of whom have lived experience of disability or long-term health conditions, are at the heart of a review commissioned to redesign the Pip benefit after the disastrous collapse of Labour’s planned cuts to disability benefits last year.

A backbench rebellion forced the government into a U-turn on £5bn of cuts in the summer of 2025, amid public opposition to plans that would have slashed household incomes and pushed hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities into poverty.

The subsequent review of Pip, co-chaired by the welfare minister, Sir Stephen Timms, published an interim report in July this year which concluded that Pip was unfit for purpose and too often left vulnerable claimants feeling dehumanised rather than supported.

Pip, which is claimed by nearly 4 million people in England and Wales, is designed to help claimants with the extra costs of disability, such as energy, transport and food. It is not linked to employment status, and about a sixth of claimants are in work.

The committee insists the emerging recommendations are not final but will be tested for fairness and workability in a series of workshops involving thousands of people with disabilities across the UK to be held over the next few weeks.

There may be resistance among campaigners to introducing non-cash elements within Pip awards. However, recent polling of Pip recipients by the Good Growth Foundation thinktank found half supported the principle of swapping part of their cash payment for services such as skills and training, home adaptations or therapy.

The committee’s recommendations are likely to be closely scrutinised by a separate review of the youth jobs crisis by former Labour MP Alan Milburn, who has made it clear that some of the cash spent on benefits for young people should be redirected towards providing them with training and skills.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “These are not the final recommendations. The review will report to the secretary of state this autumn and he will carefully consider the final proposals within it.

“The Timms review interim report, co-produced with disabled people, made clear that Pip is no longer fit for purpose.

“Our goal is to deliver a system that supports disabled people and those with long-term conditions to live independent lives, while remaining fair, sustainable and fit for the future.”