But the timing of the shake-up threatened to reignite a Labour rebellion against welfare cuts despite the Government’s partial U-turn to see off a revolt.
Other factors such as personal circumstances and living environment could also help to determine whether a person is deemed eligible for benefits.
The details of the Timms review were set out by the Government on Monday as part of concessions offered to rebel Labour MPs to avoid an embarrassing Commons defeat for Sir Keir Starmer’s welfare reforms.
MPs expressed concerns that the newly-designed assessment process would not be set out until after the review reports back in the autumn of next year. By this time, tougher eligibility for new PIP claimants will have already been introduced.
Liz Kendall sets out the details of concessions on Welfare Reform in the House of Commons (Photo by UK PARLIAMENT / AFP)
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the reforms would be “co-produced with disabled people,” as she sought to reassure Labour backbenchers.
And, unveiling details of the plans, the government confirmed the points system – used to determine if someone is eligible to claim benefits – will be looked at.
Kendall said the review would look at “activities descriptors and the associated points to ensure these properly capture the impact of long term health conditions and disability”.
The goal of the review was to ensure welfare assessments are “fair and fit for the future,” he said.
How PIP eligibility currently works
Under the current system, a person wishing to claim PIP is assessed as to their ability to be mobile or to carry out an everyday activity.
These include preparing food, eating or drinking unaided, the ability to wash and use the toilet without help and dressing.
Other activities assessed relate to mobility, such as looking at a person’s ability to move around, or socialising and being a part of society – looking at things like managing money, talking, reading and mixing with others.
For every activity a person may struggle to complete, they would be awarded a certain number of “points” depending on the scale of their difficulty.
Needing an appliance or supervision to be able to wash would amount to 2 points, for example, whereas being totally unable to wash qualifies for 8 points.
A minimum of eight points across a range of tasks is currently needed to qualify for the standard rate of PIP – but the Government wants to tighten the rules so that any new claimants must also qualify for four points in a single activity from November 2026.
Hillier’s questioning of the “rationale” for delaying the Timms review until after the new threshold is introduced, after she signalled she would back the Bill after last week’s concessions, suggested the Government could face fresh trouble in tomorrow’s debate and vote.
The rebels are still expecting a few dozen MPs – or as many as 50 – to vote against the legislation on Tuesday, which would be the biggest revolt Starmer has faced in the Commons yet.
This means MPs could be forced to vote against the Bill to voice their opposition – a more extraordinary step than some would be willing to take.
Labour rebellion reignites – as benefits cut will push 150,000 into poverty
Rebels also hit out at alleged “bullying” tactics from the whips in the run-up to the vote, in an apparent bid to dampen the revolt.
She said she hasn’t had any pressure from whips, but added that “one colleague described it as bullying over the weekend”.
Veteran left-winger Jon Trickett said the poverty assessment showed the concessions made by ministers did not go far enough.
Another rebel MP echoed his concerns: “I find it incredulous that colleagues who were prepared to rebel because 250,000 people are being pushed into poverty would then say they find it completely acceptable for 150,000,” they said.
“There are going to be people after this Bill has gone through who, through no fault of their own, will be in a system whereby they are paid less and they will likely end up in poverty, while someone who was disabled a year ago or two years ago won’t.
“That’s fundamentally wrong and the two-tier system element of it feels like something that was cooked up in the back room of No 10.”
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