Claim d2f7f678Checked 21 Jul 2026
TrueOn the truth scale
“The Timms review is the Government's own review.”
—Mrs Kemi BadenochConservativeCon / North West Essex·Engagements·03 Jun 2026Factual · official legal institutional
Reasoning & Evidence21 Jul 2026
The Timms Review was established by the UK government, is co-chaired by a serving government minister (Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability), was published on GOV.UK, and its Terms of Reference were issued by the Department for Work and Pensions. The review reports to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who then makes decisions flowing from it. The Terms of Reference — which include the line that "the purpose of the Review is to ensure that PIP is fair and fit for the future rather than to generate proposals for further savings" — were published by DWP in June 2025 and updated in October 2025.
There is some nuance: the review is co-produced with disabled people and external stakeholders, and has two non-government co-chairs (Sharron Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE). It also arose from a parliamentary debate during the passage of the Universal Credit Act, meaning Parliament directed the government to establish it. However, calling it "the Government's own review" is accurate in the sense that it was set up, published, and is led by the government, and the Terms of Reference Mrs Badenoch quotes are indeed the government's own terms. The core assertion — that this is a government-established review with government-authored terms of reference — is correct.
Sources:
- GOV.UK, "The Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment: interim report" — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/timms-review-of-personal-independence-payment-interim-report/the-timms-review-of-personal-independence-payment-interim-report
- GOV.UK, "Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment - Terms of Reference" — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/timms-review-of-pip-terms-of-reference/timms-review-of-personal-independence-payment-terms-of-reference
- GOV.UK, "The Timms Review" (collection page) — https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/the-timms-review
- Carers UK, "Carers UK responds to updated Terms of Reference for the Timms Review" — https://www.carersuk.org/press-releases/carers-uk-responds-to-updated-terms-of-reference-for-the-timms-review-of-personal-independence-payment/
From speech
The Prime Minister keeps saying he is bringing in welfare reforms. None of those things is going to cut the bill. Even his own Timms review explicitly says—this is their review; this is in the terms of reference—that this is not about generating proposals for further savings. The Prime Minister had a chance to cut benefits. Last year, I remember the Government were planning to cut benefits and on the Floor of the House they U-turned. What did he do when he had a chance? He caved. He caved to all the MPs behind him who do not want benefits brought down. That is why they are sitting silently behind him. Does the Prime Minister agree with his Welfare Secretary that that was the moment he lost his authority?
Sources opened
| [1] | gov.uk |
| [2] | gov.uk |
| [3] | gov.uk |
| [4] | theguardian.com |
| [5] | bbc.com |
| [6] | gov.uk |
| [7] | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
| [8] | carersuk.org |
| [9] | benefitsandwork.co.uk |