Millions of people across the UK are being invited to help reshape one of the country’s most controversial benefits, but for many, the hardest part isn’t policy.
It’s the experience of simply trying to be believed.
As the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) opens a 10-week consultation into Personal Independence Payment (PIP), disabled people are sharing stark, emotional accounts of what the system feels like from the inside - and why so many say it needs urgent reform.
“You’re set up to fail from the start”
Georgina Colman is founder of Purpl, a money-saving platform, created to reduce the additional financial pressures associated with living with a disability or long-term health conditions.
She argues the process must be rebuilt around dignity: simpler forms, specialist assessors who understand complex conditions, and fewer repeat assessments for lifelong disabilities.
Right now, she says, many claimants feel the system works against them - not with them.
“It’s a system that too often ignores medical evidence, creates huge stress, and leaves people feeling disbelieved and humiliated,” she explains.
“If people truly understood how complex, exhausting and degrading the process is, they’d realise it’s not something you can easily game - it’s something people are struggling just to survive.”
“They judged my depression because I smiled”
For claimants, the most painful part is often the gap between lived reality and how it is assessed.
Sally recalls being told her depression “wasn’t that bad” during a face-to-face assessment — simply because she made eye contact and smiled.
Others describe a process that feels less like support and more like interrogation.
Michelle says the forms themselves are overwhelming: “It feels like they are just trying to trip you up at every question.”
The paperwork, the pressure and the proof
From gathering medical evidence across multiple hospitals to filling out lengthy forms with limited space, the administrative burden is a recurring theme.
Sue says key details are sometimes missed - or worse, misrepresented - in assessment reports, while Robyn describes the process as “exhausting,” draining both physical and cognitive energy.
“It’s not just paperwork,” she explains. “It’s the impact on your health while trying to prove your health.”
“You lose your dignity”
For some, the emotional toll runs even deeper.
Marsaili describes the process as “pure humiliation,” saying it forces people into “a very dark, stark and unforgiving place.” Despite documented diagnoses, she says assessors have dismissed her condition outright.
Evan echoes that sense of being judged and repeatedly tested: “It’s like jumping through hoops… knowing you’ll have to go through it all again, even when nothing has changed.”
Kim adds that explaining complex conditions to non-specialists can feel futile: “You’re trying to explain everything… and then being told it isn’t that bad.”
Recommended reading:
- Best Easter 2026 deals at supermarkets from Aldi to Waitrose
- Full list of DWP payments rising for parents, carers and families in 2026
- DWP launches major PIP review and claimants urged to come forward
Reassessments for lifelong conditions
One of the most controversial issues raised is the frequency of reassessments - even for conditions that will not improve.
MK questions why people with lifelong conditions are repeatedly reviewed: “How do they justify going over the same evidence every three years?”
Ways to respond
or
Email to:
timmsreview.callforevidence@dwp.gov.uk
Write to:
The Timms Review
Disability and Health Strategy Directorate
Department for Work and Pensions
Floor Two
Caxton House
London
SW1H 9NA
The consultation, part of the wider Timms Review, will examine:
- The purpose of PIP
- Who qualifies and how decisions are made
- The experience of claiming
- The impact of wider policy changes
Officials say the review will be shaped by real-world experiences — something many claimants say is long overdue.
The DWP is urging disabled people, carers, charities and professionals to submit evidence, with options to respond online, by email or by post.
Submissions can be anonymous, and ministers say lived experience will play a central role in shaping future reforms.
Share