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PIP Changes Are Long Overdue: Why the System Needs a Radical Overhaul
Written by
Georgina, Founder of Purpl
Published on
December 31, 2025
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is under renewed scrutiny as debate around PIP changes continues across the UK. Many discussions focus on assessment quality or decision-making. But the real problem runs deeper than process alone.
PIP uses a framework that works best for physical disability. It applies the same questions to mental health and neurodivergent conditions, even though these affect daily life in very different ways. As a result, many disabled people struggle to access support, even when their daily lives are significantly restricted.
PIP must assess whether people can safely and reliably access daily life, not whether they can perform tasks on paper.
At a Glance
- PIP assessments focus on physical task performance and fail to fairly assess mental health and neurodivergent disabilities.
- Meaningful PIP changes require a radical overhaul that measures whether disabled people can safely and reliably access daily life.
In This Article
- Why PIP Assessments Are Failing Disabled People
- The Problem With Comparing Physical and Mental Disabilities
- Washing and Bathing: Where PIP Descriptors Fall Apart
- PIP Measures Performance, Not Access
- Why Small PIP Changes Are Not Enough
- What Fair PIP Changes Should Look Like
- Why This Matters for Disabled People
- Frequently Asked Questions About PIP Changes
- In Summary
Why PIP Assessments Are Failing Disabled People
PIP assessments fail many disabled people because they prioritise visible physical ability over real-world functional impact.
PIP aims to assess how disability affects daily living and mobility, not diagnosis. In theory, this should improve fairness. In practice, it creates major gaps.
The assessment relies on descriptors that work reasonably well for some physical impairments. These same descriptors often fail to capture mental health conditions, cognitive impairments, and neurodivergent disabilities.
This problem does not sit with individual assessors alone. The structure of the system creates it.
Source: PIP Assessment Guide (UK Government)
Purpl Tip: When completing PIP forms, explain how your condition affects you most days. Focus on what happens over time, not just on good days.
The Problem With Comparing Physical and Mental Disabilities
Physical and mental disabilities affect daily life in fundamentally different ways, yet PIP assesses Physical and mental disabilities affect daily life in different ways, yet PIP assesses them using the same questions.
Physical disabilities often affect whether someone can perform a task. Mental health and neurodivergent conditions often affect whether someone can start a task, tolerate it, or finish it safely.
The outcome may look the same. The task does not happen. But the reason matters.
PIP does not meaningfully account for this difference.
Source: Disability Rights UK – PIP and Mental Health
Purpl Insight: For many disabled people, the biggest barrier appears before a task even begins.
Washing and Bathing: Where PIP Descriptors Fall Apart
Washing and bathing is one of the clearest examples of how PIP descriptors disadvantage people Washing and bathing clearly shows how PIP descriptors disadvantage people with mental health conditions.
When someone cannot bathe due to poor balance, limited mobility, or physical safety risks, the system usually recognises this.
Mental health barriers look different. They can include:
- difficulty initiating washing
- panic attacks or intrusive thoughts
- sensory distress or overwhelm
- shutting down partway through
- needing reassurance or supervision
PIP often treats these barriers as irrelevant if the person can physically wash. This approach ignores whether the task can happen safely, reliably, and repeatedly.
Source: PIP Regulations 2013, Regulation 4
Purpl Tip: Always link hygiene difficulties to safety, reliability, and distress. These are legal tests under PIP, not personal opinions.
PIP Measures Performance, Not Access
PIP focuses on whether a task can be performed, not whether it can be accessed without harm.
This distinction matters.
Physical disability often affects performance. Mental health and neurodivergent disability often affects access.
Access barriers can include:
- difficulty starting tasks
- severe anxiety or distress
- cognitive overload
- dissociation or shutdown
These barriers are not secondary issues. They are the disability.
Source: Mind – How Mental Health Problems Affect Daily Life
Purpl Insight: Physical capability does not equal functional access.
Why Small PIP Changes Are Not Enough
Minor PIP changes cannot fix a system built on the wrong assumptions.
Improving assessor training or updating guidance does not address the mismatch between physical descriptors and psychological barriers. This mismatch drives incorrect decisions and high appeal rates.
A system that relies on tribunals to correct decisions does not work as intended.
Source: National Audit Office – PIP Decision-Making
Purpl Insight: High appeal success rates point to systemic failure, not individual misunderstanding.
What Fair PIP Changes Should Look Like
Fair PIP changes must assess functional access, not just physical execution.
A fair assessment would ask:
- Does the person initiate the activity on their own?
- Can they complete it without overwhelming distress?
- Do they carry it out safely and consistently over time?
- Do they need prompting, supervision, or reassurance?
PIP must treat psychological and cognitive barriers as equally valid functional impairments.
Source: UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Purpl Tip: When appealing a PIP decision, reference safety, reliability, and repeatability directly. These tests already exist in PIP law.
Why This Matters for Disabled People
When PIP assessments fail, disabled people lose access to essential support.
This loss affects finances, independence, and mental wellbeing. A benefit designed to support disabled people should not punish those with invisible or fluctuating disabilities.
Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission – Welfare Reform
Purpl Insight: When systems ignore lived reality, disabled people pay the price.
Frequently Asked Questions About PIP Changes
What are PIP changes?
PIP changes refer to proposed reforms to how Personal Independence Payment is assessed, including descriptors, assessments, and decision-making.
Are PIP changes happening in 2025 or 2026?
There is no confirmed timetable for a full overhaul. Current discussions focus on process rather than redesign.
Will PIP changes affect mental health conditions?
Most current proposals do not address the structural disadvantages faced by people with mental health and neurodivergent conditions.
Why are so many PIP decisions overturned?
Tribunals overturn a high proportion of decisions, pointing to systemic problems in initial assessments Source: Gov.uk
Is PIP being scrapped?
There is no confirmed plan to scrap PIP, but reviews and consultations continue.
In Summary
PIP exists to help disabled people cover the extra costs of daily life, but its current design fails to reflect how many disabilities affect everyday living. By focusing on physical performance instead of functional access, the system actively disadvantages people with mental health conditions, neurodivergent disabilities, and invisible impairments.
As debate around PIP changes continues, meaningful reform demands more than minor tweaks. Without a radical overhaul of the descriptor framework, the system will keep misunderstanding disabled people, denying adequate support, and pushing them into unnecessary appeals.
Real PIP changes must start with lived reality — not paperwork.
About the Author
Georgina is the founder of Purpl, a platform dedicated to helping disabled people save money through exclusive discounts. Living with both Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and ADHD, she understands firsthand the financial challenges that often come with managing a disability. Because of this, her mission is to collaborate with brands to secure discounts that help ease the cost of essential products, services, and everyday expenses for the disabled community.
As an ambulatory wheelchair user, Georgina also knows how it feels to lose a sense of independence due to a disability. For that reason, she’s deeply passionate about using holistic therapies and diet to manage inflammation and stay as healthy as possible. Ultimately, her goal is to make Purpl a trusted, go-to resource for disabled people — one that provides not only discounts but also practical advice, emotional support, and genuine financial relief.
Beyond Purpl, Georgina has a long-term vision to launch a foundation that will offer grants and funding for disabled people who need additional financial support. Through this, she hopes to create lasting change, empowering others to live with dignity, confidence, and choice.
Follow @Purpldiscounts on social media for the latest disability discounts, financial advice, and accessibility resources.
Other articles, or links, you might find useful:
How to Apply for PIP and Maximise the Benefits in the UK
PIP and Disability Benefit Reforms 2025
How to Challenge a PIP Decision in the UK
How are PIP Points Given? Understanding PIP Descriptors
