help with mobility car and multiple disabled children

I would argue that using the car to attend appointments while dc is at school is in his best interest as means he doesn't have to have alternative care which could be distressing for him.

i think It depends who you speak to. When my son moved to a residential placement and we had a year left on an extended lease, I phoned motability to arrange buying the car, they said as long as he comes home regularly it’s fine to keep until the end of the lease and fine to use for shopping etc.

Not sure when that changed then as we bought the car in December I think it was. Must be very recent. I stand corrected .

@Rookangaroo4

Yes you do. I just bought my son’s car, a few months back. You just phone motability and get a price.

I said you no longer get the option to buy, which is true. What you did a few months back is irrelevant. It is not an option anymore. Feel free to check the website to verify.

It is up to you how you want this situation to play out.

He's not talking nonsense, he's interpreting the rules in a very literal black and white in a manner consistent with ideas like if the autistic child doesn't enjoy the activity they're being taken too, then it wasn't benefiting them therefore the car shouldn't be being used to transport them. (something leveled at a friend many years ago)
We have moved on in how the rules are interpreted since then.

If you say may I use the car to take her sister to her hospital appointments?
The literal answer is no.
If you say may I use the car to take her sister to her hospital appointments, so I can easily drop everything and get to her sister (who's allocated the car,) quickly in the event of being urgently needed, the answer should be yes.

No one is likely to put that in an email to you because they need to cover their backs

What question you ask determines what answer you get.

May I strike a man in the face with my keys between my fingers? No.

May I strike a man in the face with my keys between my fingers to defend myself from physical attack? still not a simple yes, but am not going to be found guilty as it is a reasonable defense and something 'normalized.'

My PIP is to enable me to work. Should I watch my children's needs go unmet rather than spend it on them when needed? After all it has been awarded to me to enable me to work, not to help them...

Ensuring that a sibling is healthy IS for the benefit of the car recipient. I worked for them for many years as I’ve previously mentioned - even if you were unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident on the way/way home from such an appointment the claim would not be repudiated as the car is being used correctly.

@Goslingsforlife

Image from the Motability website. Taking your other child to hospital appointments falls within ‘other routine activities’

You can drop your other children disabled or not where they need to go. I really think you should phone again. What you’ve taken away from your previous conversation is not my understanding at all.

It’s not about if they check it’s that you are supposed to use it as the family car that’s why you can commute in it.

They don’t check and if your nominated drivers are in the same address they don’t fit a tracker.

They would only check if you had an accident and needed to make a claim so I really wouldn’t worry . You sound like you have a lot to deal with and I hope a motability car makes your life a bit easier

They don't monitor usage but if you have an accident they ask very detailed questions about where you were going, why, and where the disabled user was if they weren't in the car.

So if you are going somewhere you could explain away then it's fine eg driving to the local town centre you could say you were going to buy clothes for disabled child or groceries for the family.

It isn't allowed to be used generally as a "family car" it's for the benefit of the disabled person so yes, I have had many an occasion where I have walked past the Motability car parked on the drive and got in an Uber / bus.

OP I work with kids with disabilities every family I know uses the motability vehicle as a family car. You not going to run two cars. Nobody checks. If you weren't a driver the person who drives doesn't even have to live at the same address as you. So long as your not abusing the blue badge no one will know or care.

Try ringing Motability again, and speak to someone else. I am not doubting what posters are saying, and think that you should just use the car, if you get one, but if you are not comfortable doing that, it is no point, so just get confirmation, and go from there.

Yes you do. I just bought my son’s car, a few months back. You just phone motability and get a price.

You no longer get the choice to buy the car

My Informed advice is that you should call motability again and speak to someone else AND you should reapply for the BB because it sounds like you need one and should qualify for one. It’s fairly obvious reading your posts that your lives would be massively improved by getting the right set up in place. People who don’t have disabled dependents often feel you are getting too much and miss the reality of what their interpretation of the rules would mean.

For example most families can’t afford to pay for extra parking for a vehicle. Many people with neurological differences can’t move safely from place to place and need to park closer to venues to be able to leave the house/car at all. Many families of disabled people need larger/smaller/higher/lower/automatic vehicles to travel safely.
people tend not to understand the motability scheme. They think you are given a car “for free”. Actually you pay weekly, usually your entire mobility allowance weekly PLUS a fairly hefty initial payment from your savings. The advantage is while you don’t own the car and don’t get the initial payment back at the end you DO get a reliable vehicle that should (in theory) be kept running perfectly by motability as part of the hire agreement. The car gets changed every three years and at each change you must pay another initial payment, so that must be saved from your other benefits to continue. For a larger wheelchair compatible vehicle it could be several thousand pounds.

@Goslingsforlife

Think about this. If you had two children with PIP for mobility who were each allowed to get a motability car do you think you would get two cars? Of course you wouldn't.

Stop overthinking things, sign up for a car, after three years you will get an option to buy it.

My son is 25 . I’ve always managed his benefits as his appointee. Everything is paid to me and I transfer to him. The only time you need deputyship through the Court of Protetion is if there is other money, houses, assets etc.

With pip the mobility component is further broken down into two parts. My son get full points for “making and planning a journey” so gets enhanced rate mobility and is entitled to a motability car but zero points for “moving around”so isn’t automatically entitled to a blue badge. He does however have one but I had to provide extra evidence to support the application.

I’ve had conversations with motability about the use of my son’s car. They do not expect you to have two cars. You just use the car as you would your own car expect you obviously can’t use it as a taxi or delivery driver etc. when I spoke with them they said the main concern is with people that have cars but someone else drives it for them and it’s not kept at their property. In those situations they sometimes put trackers on them.

And using the car means you are able to pic your older child up from school, so it is for oldest child's benefit.

Just use it as a family car, that's what most people do.

I have three disabled children. I use my oldest son’s pip for motability and just use the car as a family car. It would be insane to run a second car and leave the motability car at home.

I have had two accidents and my oldest son wasn’t present at either of them. I just said I was doing errands, which I was.

Honestly, don’t worry about it. As long as the disabled person is getting their needs met with the benefit then it’s fine. I take my son to his day centre and then just get on with my day in the car. At the end of the day I pick him up. Am I to take the car home and then get the bus? I don’t think so.