help with mobility car and multiple disabled children

[Goslingsforlife]

how do others use it esp with multiple disabled children. I am thinking of getting one as my eldest has complex needs and is in receipt of enhanced Pip. I am aware I can use it to commute to work and shopping as this will benefit my eldest. My younger one is on DLA but not on high rate mobility (only middle rate care and low rate mob). I was told that I wouldn't be able to use the car for hospital appointments for them for example. Which makes sense on a certain level.

I cannot be the only parent with more than one disabled child. How do you work around such things. Do you still take the car? or do you take the bus on those occasions? What about if I have e.g. a hospital appointment for myself? Do I need to take the bus or the bike?

My old car is dying and I cannot afford to replace it at the moment but we really need one. A mobility car would have been the perfect solution but I now question if it's worth it I cannot use it for high numbers of journeys and if I am better saving up for a replacement vehicle. help

Whatever.

I've never had an issue with a blue badge ( live in Scotland).

Quite honestly, being able to get fast to the child the cars awarded for, from wherever you are if needed, would cover using it to take the other child to appointments.

As everyone's already said, the rules are about preventing someone else in the family treating it as a free car for them, not preventing the main carer from using it as the family car. Whoever's told you this at Motability is also a black and white thinker and interpreting abnormally rigidly.

But, I understand how fear of someone else deciding you're doing something wrong can wear people down, so just wanted to say I'm entitled to a motability scheme WAV, but decided I was better off with a loan for a cheaper vehicle and kitting it out myself, and paying off the loan with the PIP.

Find the right vehicle and it's absolutely the way to go for a more worry free life.

Also when my neighbors spout off about disabled people being "handed a free car" there's a small level of pleasure in being able to tell them they're barking up the wrong tree.

@AgnesX

I've never had an issue with a blue badge ( live in Scotland).

I also live in Scotland, neither PIP nor ADP gives an automatic entitlement to a BB, even at the enhanced rate.

Just to add, DH gets standard rate and has an automatic entitlement.

But many people have confirmed that the information you have is incorrect - I even quoted Motability’s own website in my previous post. It is absolutely ok to use the car as a family car - shopping, errands, visiting family etc.

There's only leasing on the Motability scheme now. HP stopped years ago.

Ah ok I really was unsure.

I really don't understand why you don't get a blue badge? I thought there are only two parts and scoring 10 or more points in each means you qualify for a blue badge? What's this part F you talk about?!

jesuus my neigbour gives theirs to their friend to borrow overnight noone been stopped yet-i atually dont know why they have one they dont use it

you canttake anoter child to appts in it what batshittery is that

You can look it up, I just typed out a long reply but it got lost when I went to check something.

Essentially you need 8 or more points on 'moving around' or 10 points in England/12 in Scotland under 'panning and following journeys'

A combination of the 2 does not give an automatic entitlement to a BB

I can't believe anyone would be policing this.

I know families with motability cars and they use them for general family use.

The issue with this is that you are making a decision that affects the eldest's benefits. If they are 16 or 17 then it doesn't apply but if over 18 you do need to go to the court of protection to gain permission to manage their finances - you could be accused of using their benefits to help your other children, though it is pretty silly

It sounds crazy but at my friend with disabilities house there are 3 almost brand new cars that none can drive themselves sitting on the drive/road a lot because the carers can't drive one young persons car to benefit another.

You do not have to do this to be an appointee. You are correct that the benefits are for OP DC but with severe learning disabilities I think it's safe to assume he will require support into adulthood and there is absolutely nothing wrong with OP choosing to get a car to do so. In fact a lot of families manage things in this way, OP will absolutely be spending more money supporting her DC than he will get in benefits.

Also the thing about not being able to use one car to benefit another doesn't apply in the case of what would be considered the 'family' car. Your friend is bloody stupid to be wasting so much money on cars that do nothing. They must be loaded to be able to throw hundreds of pounds away every month.

It's fairly easy to get appointeeship my son is severely autistic and currently gets HRC and HRM under SMI rules he's 14 and we have a mobility car I can't imagine the rates changing when he transfers to PIP in view of his complex needs ,
He has no understanding of money and this won't change when he's 16 or 18 ,also he will never have the cognitive ability to drive a car himself so my dh will always be the named driver .

I am the official appointee for the pip claim as my DC doesn't have capacity (severe learning difficulties). They will never drive a car. Wouldn't have thought it is an issue in that case?

That makes no sense, otherwise you'd have to have 2 cars or no car and the disabled recipient would be disadvantaged. My friend contacted Motability to ask a similar question and they said it was fine to use it for general family circumstances.

@Goslingsforlife
Yes you are right as his appointee you can manage all benefits and therefore motability.

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.

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’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.

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.

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.

@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 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.