AIBU to feel horrified at the number of Motability vehicles being provided?

[DawnRaiderNight]

Just read this in the Telegraph about what the Americans think of our welfare spending:

“It also shocks Americans to learn that almost one in every five new cars sold in Britain is provided through Motability, the taxpayer-backed car scheme. The equivalent in the United States would be every Chevy, GMC, Buick and Cadillac sold through welfare. Or every Ford”

One of my friend’s daughters, aged 27, who has never worked, has several children with various diagnoses and is a single parent recently received a top of the range car, got to choose the colour and was given a ‘big reveal’ at the garage when she collected it. She has now been given a new four bedroomed detached house, something my own hardworking children could never manage.

Something is very, very wrong in this country.

No, they are different things.
PIP carries on and gets changed to an indefinite award.

Someone that gets to pension age that was not already on PIP will not be able to apply for it. They can apply for AA though, but that has no mobility element.

I didn't know that @XenoBitch

The population has increased by 7.8 million since 2000! Clearly, uncontrolled immigration is not working, if the population has increased, but the pool of workers is dwindling?

Anyway, if the government wants to tackle disabled people, being unable to work, it needs to tackle:

1. the abysmal state of SEN education for many children with SEN, which doesn’t mean taking away the legal rights and accountability in the system, as the government is proposing to do at the moment
2. bring down NHS waiting lists, to improve healthy life expectancy and remove structural inequalities, so people get prompt treatment for their conditions and they can get back to work, before they get more chronic and complex
3. improve social care, to release more family carers to do productive work, and free up NHS beds for acute patients, by discharging elderly patients to somewhere suitable
4. disability discrimination in the workplace, rather than leaving affected individuals to police the system at employment tribunals
5. improving unemployment and disability benefits, as research shows, if people don’t have to spend their time worrying about how to meet basic needs, they are in a better frame of mind to get a job
6. improving the judicial system so young offenders and adult prisoners get rehabilitation through education and training, to equip them for a more productive life on release - given the high percentage of prisoners with illiteracy, ADHD, dyslexia and mental health problems
7. build more social housing, as per 5, because if people have somewhere reasonable and affordable to live, they are better able to work

I agree with all your suggestions, @LathkillDale, but it's worth pointing out that even with immigration, our population is still rapidly getting older. Matters would be considerably worse if we didn't have immigrants propping up the working age population.

Exactly so. So two pensioners with the same disability and/or mobility issues are treated differently. I wonder at the logic in the system.

@pointythings as an older pensioner, they can take the triple lock for me. My State Pittance is about £450 a month, so a small reduction in the percentage raise would make little difference.

I agree that the system for people becoming disabled outside working age needs to change. The assumptions made about people over 65/67 are downright ageist. People's needs in terms of support with transport, cooking, care etc. don't change just because they happened to become disabled at an older age.

I'm 58, I do not plan to rely on the state pension.

They can claim Attendance Allowance though.

Even at higher rate that is less than highest rate PIP, which is not acceptable.

bring down NHS waiting lists, to improve healthy life expectancy and remove structural inequalities, so people get prompt treatment for their conditions and they can get back to work, before they get more chronic and complex

Yes. I'd like to know how many people are claiming sick pay or becoming progressively more disabled as a direct effect of delayed NHS treatment. I think it's a lot.

I think it's a huge amount, yes. I think the same people demosing PIP claimants are the ones refusing to see the immense damage done by 14 years of austerity.

It’s just a custom made fabric ’wrapper’. I had one on my second hand car at the VW garage when I bought it. You get to pull it off and everyone claps 😂. They reuse them every time someone buys a car.

I was picturing the big red bow that you see people posing next to on their brand new range rover! 😂

You are not unreasonable OP. But everyone here will gaslight you into thinking you are. They will tell you night is day and that there is no problem with the notability program. Despite a quarter of new cars being on this scheme.

A quarter of new cars are being handed to people of welfare funded by people who could ill afford those cars themselves. But apparently, there is no problem with that.

Stop spreading misinformation. The cars are leased, not given. There is an upfront cost for all but the most basic models. The cars are returned after three years. The scheme makes profits for the car industry. Stop spouting nonsense.

They are not handed them. They rent them using the mobility element of PIP to pay towards the rental although it frequently doesn't cover all of it. I get that people might have differing opinions about PIP payments but I do not understand this anti motability car obsession.

It's envy and resentment. Which is so weird, because I can't think of a single disabled person I know who wouldn't trade the pathetic level of state supported they get for having their disability removed.

The Motability Impact report says it:

1. contributes £4.3 billion to GDP
2. supports 34,000 jobs
3. generates an estimated £11.2 billion in social support, with £9.9 billion related to improved emotional wellbeing, reduced social isolation and improved personal independence
4. is the largest purchaser of EV vehicles of 105,000 creating massive investment in home and public charging points
5. enables its customers to work an additional 14 hours per week

https://www.mo.co.uk/media/axrpxzog/accesible-impact-report-2025-updated.pdf

Some posters fail to take into account the multiplier effect of government spending on benefits!

Besides which, “normal” people who cannot afford the leasing payments on a cheap car for three years are likely to be net beneficiaries of the welfare state; and are not covering the costs of what they get from the welfare state, never mind paying for the lease payments of disabled people on Pip enhanced mobility! They should be grateful for what they get, not complaining about what other disadvantaged people get.

It’s all dissension, spread by the media, owned by the ultra rich to distract the population, from the wealth being stripped away from them by said ultra rich!

Yes, i always think that the people who can't afford a car are probably not paying much tax anyway and unlikely to be net contributors.

I think this post should be pinned at the top of every thread about PIP/Motability - great factual stuff!

I don't know why you're still whinging on here when you could be following the excellent and practical advice I gave in my last post and getting to live the unimaginable life of tax-payer-funded luxury and privilege all us disabled people lead!
I imagine that all the other posters who had been leaving resentful comments about disabled people on this thread have already rushed off to follow my fool-proof plan and are probably taking ownership of their brand new free cars as we speak, which is why this thread appears to have run out of steam.

She was 'given a house'? Amazing.

DLA and PIP are extremely hard to get. You have to be very disabled. Motobility cars are even harder to get. People use some or all of their dla/pip plus usually a big amount of their own money too on renting a car.

It's not a case of telling your GP your back hurts and you get a car. Although some people seem to think it works like that.

My DD1 is blind. She gets maximum PIP. I can’t wait for her to be behind the wheel in her brand-new Motability car.

More facts ? What have people been told about that ?

I mean we may as well mention the deposit you need to stump up (between £500-£5000+) depending on the car provided under the Motability scheme.

I say "deposit" but you never get it back, and it isn't available as a benefit. (Often charities help out). And if you need a car that has to carry a wheelchair, or be accessible for a wheelchair user, you almost invariably end up having to fork out.

(I'll report this post myself).

Just to add a mini countryman is the full £80 per week on mobility.
Standard any person contracts are £75 per week and you can buy the car at the end of the lease.

A number of disabled people perhaps choose not to do that as they may have degenerative disease or life limiting conditions. However they are not allowed to buy the car.