RSN Greater London June Notes
Reminder our monthly meeting is Tuesday, 9th June at 6pm.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82507632756?pwd=pQXbpop4UFbsb0KMG6oE0xMFDTvkoc.1
1. Disability Unit Updates
Timms Review update from steering committee
Please see an update from the co-chairs of the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Sharon Brennan, Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE and Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability at: The Timms Review - GOV.UK. Alternative formats (including BSL, Easy Read, Large Print and audio) are also available at this page.
This co-chair update contains details of a ‘Workshop in a Box’, which we are sharing on behalf of the Timms Review steering group. The Workshop in a Box is available to any organisation, group, or elected representative who wishes to participate, and aims to facilitate discussion about what PIP is for, what’s it like to apply for PIP, and how decisions are made about PIP. There are drop-in webinars on 10 and 16 June, where anyone interested can hear more about the workshops and ask questions. Further information, including on how to sign up to a webinar, is available on at Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment: run a workshop - GOV.UK. Alternative formats (including BSL, Easy Read, Large Print and audio) are also available at this page. Organisations will be able to submit insights from their workshops for 6 weeks, until 17 July.
The steering group would be very grateful if you would consider hosting one of these workshops using the resources provided.
Alan Milburn Report Young People and Work
This morning the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) officially published Alan Milburn's interim report for the independent review into Young People and Work.
You can view and download the official document directly on GOV.UK here: Young people and work: interim report
This concludes the discovery phase of the review; with final recommendations expected later this year.
Disabled people's experiences of harassment and victimisation
Page summary:
A qualitative evidence review that explores evidence on disabled people’s lived experiences of harassment and victimisation in the UK.
Disabled people's experiences of and access to justice in the UK
Page summary:
A qualitative evidence review that explores evidence on disabled people’s lived experiences of and access to justice.
Disabled people's lived experience in the UK: evidence reviews and reports
Page summary:
Reports on the lived experience of disabled people in the UK in areas including housing, jobs, relationships, education, social care and attitudes.
Timms Review Workshop in a Box
In our recent open letter we laid out our multi-strand evidence gathering and engagement programme designed to allow people and organisations to contribute to the Timms Review in a way that works for them. A varied approach will ensure that the Review is informed by both lived experience and wider evidence and underpins our commitment to co-produce the Review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, carers, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders.
At the beginning of June 2026 we will be launching the fourth strand of this programme called ‘Workshop in a Box’. This is a tool that will allow organisations of all sizes to provide evidence from real people on the impact of PIP on their lives.
We are sharing this information now to give stakeholders time to consider whether they may wish to host a Workshop in a Box engagement session and to provide as much planning time as possible for those that do.
1. What is a Timms Review Workshop in a Box?
This engagement tool was used by NHS England in Change NHS 2024 engagement. It is a tool that is aimed at helping you facilitate a conversation about the Timms Review and the role PIP plays in people’s lives. The input we receive from this will form a key part of the co-production process of the Review.
We will provide downloadable materials on key areas of interest to the Steering Group to help your run your own events with the people you advocate for, the public or other stakeholders. We will also include a template to capture and share ideas and insights back with us to inform the Review.
The ‘Workshop in a Box’ will be open to anyone who would like to host a session. This includes, but is not limited to, DDPOs, disability or health charities, community groups, and elected representatives.
The Timms Review Workshop in a Box will be launched on 8 June 2026, with the window to return feedback until 17 July 2026. As a steering group we recognise the time and effort required to plan and facilitate these workshops, and this email is intended to provide as much notice as possible to support planning.
2. Our ask of you
The steering group recognises that charities, advisory networks and other grassroots organisations often hold greater trust with people with direct experience and knowledge of PIP. We also know that hearing from a wide range of voices, especially those least likely to engage with more formal Government evidence channels, is essential if we are to provide a PIP offer that is fair to all, including the most marginalised communities.
If you feel able to, we would like to ask you to reach out to your networks of disabled people or those with lived experience once the Workshop in a Box offer has launched, so we can ensure the steering group develops its recommendations from a broad foundation of lived, living and learned experience from across the UK.
In turn we will ensure that the Workshop in a Box materials are inclusive and provide flexibility on how to engage with people from different backgrounds and communities. The Workshop in a Box offer is intended to be an inclusive and flexible opportunity for disabled people and individuals with direct experience of PIP to shape the Review.
Workshops can be held in-person or online, with a range of options for what to cover, allowing sessions to fit the expertise of participants and run from 30 minutes to two hours at a time. Hosts are encouraged to draw on their own expertise and understanding of those that they know best to run sessions in a way that best meets participants’ needs.
The steering group is looking forward to hearing the views and experiences shared through these workshops and is grateful in advance for the time, knowledge and commitment involved in hosting them.
SEND Review Follow up Questions
Please find some answers from DfE to the specific questions raised. As mentioned throughout, the key has been ensuring that you all contribute your views and questions directly into the SEND consultation. Now the consultation has closed, please can future queries be directed to the standard DfE correspondence channel, details here: Contact the Department for Education (DfE) - GOV.UK
In addition, DU of course know just how important this topic is, and we will also provide you with any updates that we get from DfE on the SEND consultation next steps in due course.
What is happening to future EOTAS packages, especially those post-16 and post-19?
- Current legislation remains in place and a local authority may continue to put in place education otherwise than at a school or college provision under section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014, where it is satisfied that it would be inappropriate for the provision to be made in a school or college.
- The consultation proposes the introduction of specialist provision packages for all children and young people with complex needs. These packages will recognise and address needs which currently can lead to education outside of school being deemed appropriate, including, for example, a ‘Social and emotional development focused on internalising behaviours’ package. The department is appointing an independent expert panel who will advise on content and delivery of the packages. Decisions on the proposals will be informed by responses to the consultation including engagement events focussed on the use of EOTAS provision.
We note that Connect to Work is now being advertised for 16–18-year-olds, will that affect EHCP’s being continued?
- For most 16–18-year-olds, including those with EHCPs, education and training should take priority over employment programmes. This includes study programmes, supported internships, and apprenticeships. However, this may provide an alternative route for a few who may struggle to engage with other options.
- Young people with an EHCP are a key group who may be considered for Connect to Work, because they often have recognised special educational needs and/or disabilities that create barriers to employment. However, having an EHCP does not automatically make a young person eligible. They must still meet the programme’s wider eligibility and suitability criteria.
What classes as complex needs - is there a breakdown or menu-card so parents understand which “box” their young person is being placed in?
- In the consultation, “complex needs” refers to children and young people who require specialist‑level support. Rather than setting a single definition, complexity will be defined through the Specialist Provision Packages, each of which will clearly describe the needs it is intended to support. Broadly, complex needs are significant and long‑term needs that cannot be met in mainstream classrooms alone, even with enhanced SEN support. This includes children who need a substantially different curriculum, a significantly adapted way of accessing the curriculum, or a high level of specialist support, adaptations or equipment.
- In future, a statutory needs assessment will be based on whether a child or young person needs the provision set out in one of the Specialist Provision Packages. We will ensure that the packages are broad enough, to ensure that each individual child or young person will have their specific needs met through the provision they receive from the Package. This individualisation and personalisation will be captured in their EHCP.
- The Packages will reflect the best available evidence from both research and practice. They will be developed by sector experts, including specialist and mainstream headteachers and MAT leaders, local authority commissioners and specialist practitioners such as EPs, SaLTs and OTs. An independent expert panel will oversee the development of the Packages and keep them under review. We will work closely with families throughout this process.
- The SEND consultation includes a draft outline of seven Specialist Provision Packages. These packages are indicative, developed by specialist sector experts, and are expected to evolve. Descriptions of the Packages may change, and additional packages may be introduced to cover the full range of support needed by children and young people with complex needs.
Access to Work
Following the mention by Minister Timms at the meeting, this is the DWP press release and the Written Ministerial Statement on Access to Work.
Workplace Protections for Unpaid Carers Consultation
From one of the RSN Chairs
We wanted to make you aware that the Government has today launched a consultation on new workplace protections for unpaid carers and parents of seriously ill children, as part of the ongoing work to implement the Employment Rights Act.
The consultation, launched by the Minister for Employment Rights Kate Dearden, sets out several proposals that could significantly change the rights of those with caring responsibilities in the workplace. These include introducing paid carer's leave for the first time, a new "right to return" to work after a period of intensive caring - similar to existing maternity leave protections - and new guidance to help workers and employers better understand carers' workplace protections.
Currently, around three million unpaid carers balance work with caring responsibilities, with many forced to reduce their hours or leave the workforce entirely - at an estimated cost to the economy of £37 billion a year. The Government believes these proposals could help thousands return to work and support employers to attract and retain skilled staff.
The consultation is open to everyone with a vested interest, and we would strongly encourage you to respond and share your views. The consultation has been published here and will close on 1 September 2026.
You can also find the press release here for your reference, which sets out the full details of the consultation.
How you can help
We would be very grateful if you could share news of this consultation with your networks and membership, so that as many people as possible can contribute their views.
We would also welcome your support in amplifying our social media content on this announcement. You can find our posts at the following links:
If you have any questions about the consultation or would like to discuss further, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Thank you for your continued engagement on implementing the Employment Rights Act, and we look forward to hearing the views of you and your networks.
RSN Greater London Updates
PIP Review Submission
Thanks to all who shared views on the PIP Review via our collaborative doc and elsewhere.
I hope you found enough ways to contribute and let me know how it was.
The docs that were sent are here: One around our own themes and one around their themes.
RSN Greater London Agenda
That list again:
Other Activities
I saw Minister Timms twice recently:
- The APPG for Assistive Tech Annual Event - 2nd June
- The Lilac Centre First Anniversary
I have another Accessibility and Tech roundtable with Secretary of State Pat McFadden from Heathrow Airport
Also, I’m reviewing a Call For Evidence about Assistive Tech across Empowerment, Inclusion and Independence. This was announced by Minister Timms at the above APPG.
I was invited to a consultation by the Greater London AI Task Force on behalf of disabled communities.
The Disabled Londoner is a website to share public government news and related items in London.
The ND Entrepreneur report is out
I’m at LTW, including Financial Inclusion with banking ambassador
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