To think this is a fair change to the Motability scheme...

[BusyBumbling]

BBC News - 'Premium' cars like BMW and Mercedes cut from Motability scheme
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9znkxq47xo

It's still supporting disabled people with the cost of owning a car whilst also supporting the British car industry. I think public opinion has been listened to on both sides and this seems very sensible.
It may also reduce some of the costs of the grants paid from the scheme which were helping fund the upfront cost for premium cars for poorer claimants.

YABU it won’t save a penny, the disabled person will still get their payment.

Some choose these vehicles because adaptions are easier with them. The person pays the cost of the adaption, not the taxpayer.

Just out of interest to those who vote YABU can I ask why exactly?

As MN taught me the level of PIP remains unchanged. The disabled person chooses how much of their pip they get to spend on the car lease.

I think it’s good to have scheme to support people with mobility issues get access to vehicles.

I think the scheme has possibly lost scope, as there are apparently now c. 900,000 of these vehicles on the road. A fifth of all new cars.

I think they should remove access to premium vehicles, yes - but I think they also need to assess who is actually eligible as it seems extraordinary that so many people are eligible for the higher rate of mobility PIP to make this problem exist in the first place…!

For some adaptations only premium brand cars (well vans tbf) will work.

Perhaps we need to look into means testing PIP too.

It is ridiculous to claim that most of these luxury vehicles are being leased because adaptions are easier to make. Only 10% of Motability cars have adaptations.

All it is doing is pandering to the “but they get a posh car” idiots who don’t understand a thing about the system.

If people are using their own money to top up with the advance payments they should be able to pick the car that is best suited for them within their budget.

Exactly. The PIP amount is unchanged.

Not always...

"Motability Scheme-related grants provide financial help, to Motability Scheme customers, towards the costs of leasing a suitable car or wheelchair accessible vehicle.

Each year, we provide a small number of means-tested grants to people most in need of financial help to use the Scheme.

This can include funding towards advance payments for cars, wheelchair accessible vehicles, and adaptations for drivers and passengers."

So the scheme finances some of the upfront payments and adaptations with grants.

Only the 3rd thread on this so far…

Well that’s going to be phase two of this situation isn’t it - people are now questioning why exactly so many people are able to claim this mobility benefit at such a high rate.

I've learnt from MN that means testing PIP would be too expensive in admin costs. PIP is done to meet the extra costs of the disability

What - exactly - would the saving to the tax-payer be?

A) Zero
B) None
C) Nil
D) £0

Because the assessment deemed so

I agree with it. I never saw the point of having the option of luxury cars with crazy advance payments . I don’t get why claimants need those types of cars and if they have a few grand to pay upfront surely that would be better spent on a car that you actually own?

I have a motability car for my son. The reason it helped me was because I needed a car to to take him places , I wasn’t in a position to buy one , so I weighed up the cost of saving for a car ( but I didn’t have time to) and the cost of taxis etc. However , if I had had the money to buy a cheap car I would have because even though everything is covered I will never own that car . If and when my sons needs change , or he decides he wants to have that money instead then I will have no car and have to buy one anyway. Also the cost of it isn’t as cheap as people think - it’s £300 per month and yes that includes insurance and repairs but really it’s not massively different from the cost of financing an older car.

I did not do it because I wanted a fancy new car , I don’t drive around flashing my car it’s just a car that does the job. If I had £4000 cash I would 100% have not got a motability car and just got a car that’s older but is mine so I don’t get why someone would pay that much to have a new car that they will never own.

I think the advance payments should be lowered for cars that need adaptions though because that’s not a choice , it’s a need.

This is incorrect.

We could means test PIP the same way we means test CB. That isn't prohibitively expensive and allows people to still be acknowledged as being eligible for PIP but they don't receive the money. This is important as it's often a gateway benefit.

There are no British or non premium brand vans out there?

There is already a massive thread on this - https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/politics/5449828-luxury-cars-removed-from-the-motability-scheme

But then is it fair that they are part of the scheme? Surely the scheme exists to make sure people aren’t disadvantaged by their disability in terms of mobility because the cost of an adapted vehicle might be prohibitive to them? If people can afford a car that meets their needs, why are they able to benefit from the scheme at all?

But as someone who qualified for a grant towards a WAV they only grant the amount for a NEED not a want, so they start off with the smallest grant, get an independent assessor to look at the vehicle with you and the equipment you need to transport and if that fits then that’s what you get, if it doesn’t they then move to the next size etc.

@Marshmallow4545
Don’t forget those pesky disabled children who get higher rate mobility component of DLA… they qualify too.
Different criteria but still such a burden to the taxpayer.
If only someone would means-test children to see if they could stop their parents accessing Motability cars, eh?
After all the private car manufacturers and leasing companies -especially the British companies- are queuing up to make adaptations to their vehicles to sell at an affordable rate to people who require adaptations, right?
After all Peugeot, Mercedes-Benz, Fiat, Renault, Citroen, Volkswagen and Ford make WAVs … which British manufacturers am I forgetting?
Oh that’s right…, none.

Perhaps not but it's obviously a move towards acknowledging that state money shouldn't be used to fund obvious luxuries. I genuinely think means testing will be the next step here and this will deliver bigger savings and benefit perceived as fairer.

Can you name one?

The scheme previously allowed you to choose a car that fit your budget and spending priorities, and use your mobility allowance component to fund the additional costs of using that to support your mobility.

That recognised independence, the importance of choice, and that you can both be disabled and get state support for the additional challenges that brings, but also be in employment with a high income and some choice over how you spend that money.

This is a headline grabbing backward step.

@BusyBumbling
No there are no British manufacturers making WAVs