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.

Exactly. PIP is about levelling the playing field a little. It by no means covers the costs of being disabled. Its purpose is to enable disabled people to reach their potential and participate in and contribute to society to as close as the extent that they would have been able to do had they not been disabled. As such it is extremely good value for money: it lowers housing, welfare, healthcare and social care costs, it increases tax revenues and employment participation. It is not remotely comparable to child benefit. Disabled adults are not generally the dependents of two other adults whose legal duty it is to house and provide for them. Being disabled, unlike having a child, is not a choice. And numerous economic studies have shown that money spent supporting disabled people through appropriate education, and with additional payments to assist with the elevated living costs incurred by being disabled, pays for itself many times over in economic terms even if you don’t care from a moral perspective.

Contrary to popular belief our expenditure on disability is no higher as a percentage of GDP than it was in the 1970s and 80s. It is also one of the lower percentages in the G7 and below average for the OECD.

They may need to drive when their colleagues can all easily use public transport or walk.

They may need a bigger and therefore more expensive car to meet there needs.

as had been said many times working or not being disabled is expensive!

There’s also the well-documented fact that means testing it would cost far more than it would save, which shows that such suggestions have nothing to do with economics and everything to do with spite.

Some of the responses on MN would have you think that this is what people believe. Previous threads even question if disabled people should be allowed to drive. Just awful. We could all have our lives change in a second, anyone of these disabled people could be you in a week, a year, yet people act as if they are superior. My life changed forever last year with no warning (and no I don't claim benefits or a car).

Look towards the wealthy companies and individuals who are shirking their responsibilities instead of following the uninformed herd in punching down.

These threads have taken a really nasty turn today... Lots of people clearly feeling targeted by disabled people rightly pointing out that everyone is willing to say how lucky we have it with our "free car" but no one wants to swap, and also pointing out that everyone is one accident or illness away from disability.

It translates to "let me complain about all the nice things I think you're getting, and you aren't allowed to give me a reality check or share your actual experience".

I know many disabled women who are on PIP, and it is their sole income as their partner/spouse either earns too much or has too much in savings.
If you means test PIP, you would be potentially cutting these women off from the only financial independence that they have.

Who said I'm not disabled? Don't assume anything please. I can think this is a fair change to the scheme and still be disabled you know.

We used to run a posh car funded by PIP. Only it wasn’t. Because we paid £1000s to lease a premier car and even more £1000s to spec it up.

We used our money earned from working to pay for that. DH claims PIP but no other benefits.

However as I’ve pointed out vocally on other threads, PIP is blatantly being fraudulently obtained by a minority of claimants.

@Kendodd
You don’t need to reply of course but..
If you woke up tomorrow morning and had become paralysed from the waist down - would you still be the same person you are now? Yes? Same interests, same feelings, same thoughts etc.
Could you do the same things that you currently do? No?
Could you mow your lawn or do the washing up or bath your children or go golfing or still do your same job?
If the answer to do the same job is “no” then - see where a drop in income comes in.
If you can still go to the office as you refer to, are you going to go by bus? Train? Taxi?
Where are you getting an adapted car from?
Buying a second hand Motability car or leasing a new Motability car?
Or staying indoors forever without claiming PIP or will you apply?
Will you pay for private medical care? For private physio?
Will you buy all your own incontinence products?
Pay for carers to wash you? Cook for you?

I didn't mention you at all. If you're feeling targeted by my post I'd encourage you to consider why that is.

Why do you think it’s a fair change OP?

If I wanted an Audi I would now choose a VW. I would pay the same amount, that is my HRM, every 4 weeks. The advance payment on the VW is less then the AP on the Audi, but that’s would be for me to pay anyway, so what exactly is the difference?

A lot of the trouble is people see social media posts of people saying oh look I got this for free ( it's not free) and people get mad as you see people who receive benefits and question do they really need it, when they boast about what they get.

I have seen a few people with wheelchairs who need vans and I asked to see how it all works, it's amazing and does change their lives

After saying that I wanted to point something out, my hubby has a blue badge but doesn't claim PIP, his heart is failing and he can't walk far. I drive a V6 Range Rover, I bought it myself, as it is easy for him to get in and out of, as I can lower it for him and I can fit his mobility scooter in the boot and it doesn't hurt my back to get it out, but the abuse I have received from people having a go about me having a big car and parking in a blue badge bay when I have my hubby with me, one man had a go about me having a free car, I followed him into a store and pointed out I own the car and paid for it with my own money, I also get comments about the fact I don't look disabled, when I get out the car and only one apologised when I got my hubby's scooter out the boot.

It is an area that does need looking at and would be a brilliant way to support british cars

This is where stats are completely unhelpful.

An average cost for a disabled person is assuming there is homogeneity amongst disabled people when there often is none. A quarter of the population are disabled but they obviously aren't allowed incurring costs of £1k a month for their ADHD or dyslexia. PIP is needs related so it is totally possible that you get a relatively big award for a 'cheap' disability and vice versa.

There also of course will be plenty of non disabled people battling chronic health conditions who will be shelling out a fortune each month to manage their health. Half of the population have a chronic health condition but most of these aren't considered disabled.

The world is grey and funding some people to lease expensive cars whilst we completely ignore the needs of others is pretty awful. We don't have enough money to give everyone what they want or even what they need to mitigate the impact of disability and poor health. We therefore need to be smart with the money we do have and part funding expensive cars isn't the way to go about it unless there is a specific need.

Because it's my post 🙄 and you're assuming that those who are in favour of the changes can't possibly be disabled and hate everything about disabled people claiming anything. I'd encourage you to think about why you're so binary in your thinking.

You started the thread. Other people have posted on it. Hence me saying these threads have taken a nasty turn. Threads include the posts on them from other people.

I'm referring to the people on this and other threads complaining about and policing the responses of disabled people. At no point have my comments been directed at you, or at any individual. Just commenting on a trend I've noticed both on this thread and on other threads on the same topic.

Again, if you feel targeted by that, I don't know why that would be.

@sunshine244
Not every person with a disability is on universal credit.
My daughter is only 8 so obviously does not receive a work-replacement benefit.
My husband and I don’t receive universal credit because he works above the threshold and hence pays taxes etc.
One might reasonably expect that if your disabled child’s DLA was scrutinised you might have irregular spending- obviously that depends on what your child needs but for instance I will use my severely disabled child’s DLA to fund the usual incontinence products, footwear and wheelchair accessories regularly but there will be big expenses like £4,000 plus as a downpayment next year if we lease again via Motability for a WAV and then £2,000 upwards for adapting that WAV OR buying a second hand Motability car (£14,000 upwards) or a powered wheelchair (£18,000 upwards).
I don’t care if DWP decided to check expenditure- I’d hope it would better inform them of the vast expenses some disability incurs.
Some might be like me - big expenses every so often, smaller ones along the way.

Well, it won’t save or make any money. But then neither did the VAT on school fees so 🤷‍♀️

@Marshmallow4545
Which are the expensive cars that are being part-funded by taxpayers?
Motability is not funded by the government (unless you mean the exchange of PIP or DLA for the monthly lease)…?

Because if you can afford the AP on the Audi then I don't think you should have a far more preferential leasing option that anyone else.

A small number.

towards adaptations and wheelchair accessible vehicles. A WAV can have a down payment of £7k.

means tested.

Most people have to spend their own money. It’s there’s so they can spend it on what they like.

and charities will provide things for people with all sort of need and personal circumstances to those grants are no different.

Maybe you should target your posts more accurately then instead of sweeping statements. The main trend on this thread seems to be disabled people saying it's not fair and why can't they have some luxury.

So they can't spend their own money on what they want? How on earth do you think you have the right to dictate how somrone spends their own money?

I’d rather a clamp down on them actually being used for the person it is for.

I could be wrong as it was a few years ago I read about it now but the car is for the benefit of the person not to just be used as say their careers car.

Yet people do abuse that system wife at home who’s disabled.

Man takes the car to go fishing. It’s her car. Child in school.

Mum takes the car to go to the hair saloon. The car is for the child’s benefit not mums personal car.

Shopping at sainsbury’s sure that feeds the house. Going to the gym or some such doesn’t.

I think they have every right to spend their money as they wish, just not using a preferential leasing scheme supported by taxpayers.