Motability cars - should they be UK made?

[Pandersmum]

Motability cars are currently in the news with suggestions VAT will be added. I realise they are a lifetime to some and a perk to others. They are a huge annual cost to the tax payer.

AIBU to think that all motability car choice should be limited to those manufactured in the UK? This would support British manufacturing worker jobs and increase UK business tax revenue whilst still providing cars for those who need them?

You are allowed to work and get PIP. The people you are talking about might have other qualifying conditions.

@Thaimonstera All the WAVs we've had are just standard cars (or mostly vans) which are then converted by a specialist conversion company to suit the needs of the disabled occupant. The hoops they have to jump through to get the conversion passed for safety and crash testing means there's already a limited choice of vehicles available. Restricting that to British made vehicles would be bonkers - and not many "British" cars are actually made in the UK anyway.
We've had 2 Fords (probably made in Germany), a Fiat, a Kia and a Peugeot.

Well my engagement has stopped now. I just know after visiting "The Big Show" last year that even WAV adaptations aren't as flexible as they could be.

The real scandal, which doesn't cross anyones mind (especially the OPs) is that Motability exists because public transport in the UK is so pisspoor as to be non existent.

The UK could save a Kings ransom if it seriously eliminated obstacles to the disabled and tap the vast wasted resource of people excluded from society - who would then bump up the tax take.

Yes, more could be done. I was just pointing out WAVs are available via Motability.

No, I love my Volvo and I loved the previous BMW. I always pay a bit to get something nice.

Why is everyone dragging the disabled lately?

Well not quite. I live in London, where public transport is readily available. But some people get PIP for things like epilepsy, severe social anxiety, where no amount of public transport will help (and before anyone asks, no, the person with epilepsy won't be driving but instead will have someone drive for them).

Motability cars are leased, not bought, so they are not 'given' to blue badge holders. Secondly, the car needs to reflect the needs of the user. For some this means wheelchair access. For others, it's room to cater for other medical needs, and for others it's different driving controls. Would a British manufacturer even want to cater for such diverse needs? The motability scheme exploitation has been blown completely out of proportion and is just a storm in a teacup.

My child's WAV is a VW Crafter (and a damned sight bigger than an SUV that a previous poster claimed). Without it we wouldn't be going anywhere that was off a public transport route and he wouldn't be able to get to appointments at the regional hospital, it was the only vehicle that was deemed to meet his needs on the scheme.

They mean the amount of fraud that is discovered removed is very small. There absolutely is fraud for PIP and disability cars that goes unchallenged and I don’t know why people won’t admit it.

Look, we don't want you cluttering up the thread with reasonableness and facts. This is a place for the ill-informed to spew their bile and have a pop at those less fortunate than themselves.

The fact that in every 4 cars is now notability with taxpayers funding cars for people with ADHD just shows you far this madness has gone.

And what possible justification is there for giving out free BMWs and Mercedes, and Audis. It’s absolutely scandalous.

Working for a living and paying your own way is now a mug’s game. Why bother when you can everything for free.

I agree with the above. But the part I think Reeves is getting at is Motability claim back the 20% VAT on the purchase of the car so over the tens of thousands of cars bought through the scheme, it adds up to a lot of lost revenue to the Government. Disabled people can claim back all the VAT on a number of things which are purchased to assist with their health issues but because cars costs more, they have the biggest impact by far

ADHD? I think that's unlikely unless very extreme?

My son gets it for being autistic. I don't call it 'neurodivergent'. He's autistic and seriously so. He cannot go anywhere on his own.

Anyone who thinks we should have a sign on the car can fuck right off. Our lives are hard enough already.

And they aren't free. The car takes up all the Motability allowance plus if you get anything fancy, you have to pay extra. I usually budget about 3-4k for my advance payment and then keep 3-5 years. I kept my BMW for 5 years.

Oh God. It is just pathetic to see people falling for this shit.

People are directing their anger towards the wrong target, but are too blinded by resentment and spite to see that. It must feel horrible to live that way.

Mini? Hardly ideal to accommodate my electric wheelchair

Around 50% of disabled people in the uk are in employment. Schemes like Mobility are to support disabled people with their independence and perhaps try and make life a little easier for them. What’s wrong with that?

Disability benefits, including the enhanced mobility component of PIP and high rate mobility DLA, are based on needs, not diagnosis. The vast majority of people with ADHD will not be eligible for enhanced mobility/HRM. For example, with PIP, in order to be eligible for the motability scheme you have to be in receipt of the enhanced mobility competent. So you have to score 12 or more points. There are 2 mobility activities. One is moving around and the other planning and following a journey. Someone with ADHD alone won’t score under the former. Some may score some points under the planning and following a journey activity. In order to score 12 points under that, you have to prove you cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog or an orientation aid. Many with ADHD alone will not be able to prove that. The rules are different for DLA, but the same principle applies.

They aren’t free!

Ah yes, of course disabled people shouldn’t be allowed to have the same choices as everyone else.

Shush now with being so silly. I bet you think it’s a free car too, don’t you?

Disabled car owners shouldn’t be restricted to any make or model, as long as they pay for more than basic. I’d incentivise UK made cars with lowee upfront payments. There is massive road tax fraud among disabled car owners - only cars that are driven soley by or used only for the direct benefit of the disabled person qualify but I know this is regularly ignored.

How are they a cost to the tax payer?

I have a choice to receive PIP or have it taken off me to pay for a lease on a car I will never own.

If I want a better car then I have to pay a 'deposit' which isn't a deposit because I don't get it back.

The adaptions cost a fortune.

OP

Every disability is different, not all cars are suitable for different disabilities.

Do you remember the old blue mobility cars? The ones that only one person could get in to because it was for the disabled person and no one else. SO you couldn't take your children to school. You couldn't have a carer go with you to the supermarket.

It was cruel, motability was brought in to right that wrong.

They are never a 'perk' and there are restrictions on their use. I can only insure another person if they live within 15 mins of me.

That means if I wanted to take a trip to, lets say France, with my dad(also entitled to PIP) only one of us could drive the entire journey.

But there must be something wrong if around 20% of new car sales are in fat through the mobility scheme.

That's a lot of new cars funded by the tax payers....

They are using their benefits to lease a car, many pay over and above this in advance payments. It’s not subsidised.

The figures re fraud are official figures, not merely my opinion. Your ableism is shocking.

You can insure anyone. They don't have to be within 15 minutes. I frequently chop and change the drivers on my (my son's) car. One of the drivers lives bloody miles away but still comes over and drives my son around.

I mean lots of disabled people are also ‘the taxpayer’, aside from that, if people with HRM didn’t choose a car, the cost to the tax payer doesn’t change as they would be paid the mobility element to themselves.