Luxury cars removed from the motability scheme

[AutumnLeavesandKnittedJumpers]

https://news.sky.com/story/luxury-cars-removed-from-motability-scheme-ahead-of-budget-13475029

too little too late. As a full time worker I can’t afford to run a car, let alone a luxury car. Motability should be a standard car - available in automatic and manual, an option for wheelchair users, and that’s it.

is it not?

Pardon my thick head but if it is no different to leasing a car, why is there a mobility scheme. Why not just cancel it, do away with it completely?

Surely, if it is no different to anyone choosing to lease a car, then why is it given a name? Why is there a scheme if it doesn't provide some benefit that Joe Bloggs who isn't a member of the scheme doesn't get.

Again, pardon my thick head but I can't help feel that if there is such a scheme there must be some advantage to the users that isn't available to those who lease cars and are not part of the mobility scheme.

What is it?

If there isn't any advantage , then why not just cancel the Mobility Scheme completely. No one will miss it , as people can still lease a car "no difference" as you say.

Cancel it altogether seems to be the sensible way forward, as it causes a lot of annoyance and all for nothing because, as @ChristmasTimeChristmasJoy says it is absolutely no different to the leasing schemes available to Joe Public.

Ah yes, paying car insurance at a few hundred pounds a year and £200 for a servive is far more expensive than being paralysed.

I never said it was did I? My point was that people are worried and the current budget is pitting people against each other and that the entire system needs to be looked at, NHS, Civil Service, Pensions, Welfare, taxation. But it won't be because it's too hard so the country will be fucked but so long as everyone gets to keep what they believe they are entitled to and the politicians stick their head in the sand then all good.

Its essentially impossible to privately adapt a vehicle in the UK, its also extremely hard to buy insurance to cover any driver, a lot of people with disabilities have multiple carers who need to be able to drive their vehicle. You also can’t modify a leased car, try giving a leased car back if you had managed to have a lift ramp fitted for example.

For the umpteenth time, the cost is £77 a week. That's all. It will cost £77 if the car is a fully insured and maintained Mercedes, or if the PIP recipient gets all their deliveries from Deliveroo, or if they just stick it in the bank. It is not means tested.

So, if the cost is the same the only objections can be either be to the fact that they receive PIP in the first case, in which case campaign for a review of the criteria for that, or a desire to discriminate against the disabled, or jealousy. Is there an other reason for objecting?

PIP is not means-tested. So it matters not how much other money/income the person has. You may not like it, but those are the rules the Tories created when they brought in PIP.

Why are the govt doing it then, what is the point?

@Cailleachnamara
I’m sure you don’t feel comfortable about reporting those women, I’m not sure I’d be able to in your shoes but it’s a disgrace if they do that. They are taking money from their parents by stealth.
I have a severely disabled daughter that cannot walk and depends on a wheelchair.
She has other issues (eg being nonverbal).
I despise anyone who abuses the trust of Motability like that. I dislike anyone who makes a fraudulent claim for DWP benefits or who defrauds the NHS.

Having said all that people do need to understand why someone might lease a car from Motability and it’s not just “because we/I can”.

Personally I think Motability is very expensive for the end user but.. it has a monopoly on the adapted vehicle market in the UK, so I’ve had to use them for the WAV I have (first and last Motability lease if I can do anything else!).

Reasons include - not being able to reliably use public transport is one. Not being able to use public transport at all is another.
Some will lease a Motability car to go to work but ALSO use it for day trips, going out to visit family/country walks etc.
In all cases these activities are permitted.

It might be the case that an elderly leaseholder has someone else to drive the car, and that can include that driver going to work or leisure activities so I suppose I’d err on the side of caution as if these people are registered carers for the PIP recipient then it would be very difficult to show fraud (and it probably doesn’t even constitute misuse of the Motability car).

Unlike a Blue badge, the disabled person does not have to be in the Motability car (or being collected) at all times. I think sometimes people confuse these two entirely separate things.

On an aside blue badge misuse is a criminal offence (obviously that’s absolutely nothing to do with Motability) and if I were certain someone was doing that I would not hesitate to report it. The terms and conditions of a BB are crystal clear.

To appease people with a poor grasp on financial matters.

Right. And the disabled person doesn't need food shopping or help taking there kids taking to school. How thoughtless can you actually be.

You've suggested that other people are "fine with fully employed people, with no disabilities in their 40s scamming cars at public expense", yet when you know that someone is doing that, you won't report them. It would appear that you're the one that's fine with that happening.

There are lots of reports that the cycling to work scheme is going to reformed, with a cap on the value of the bike. Rightly so. Too many people have abused the system for their own benefit.

To appeal to those foaming at the mouth convinced that the government is paying for free BMWs.

To appease the bitter and twisted?

If you read the article, it has nothing to do with price mark, it is to do with promoting cars built in Britain. They're not removing luxury cars; they are removing foreign cars to boost British car manufacturing, but that is not as headline-grabbing and doesn't give people the chance to froth about Mabel down the road getting more than they do.

@Kirbert2 cross post!

@LupaMoonhowl
Do you think my 8 year old daughter can drive me to work?

THEY DONT OWN THE CAR...

Well they will have to explain how it is going to save money so I look forward to Reeves enlightening us tomorrow.

I think your mum has very poor financial acumen. You can get a car like that for a lot, lot less. ( clicky my link for cheap car )
That does not mean it is somehow unfair for someone who needs transport (a car) due to a disability gets a state subsidised rate on a vehicle. And that rate of subsidy is fixed no matter the value of the car. So whether is a Dacia or a Merc, it costs £77 a week.
But hey, why would truth get in the way of a real rant because you are crap at managing your own affairs and jealous of others?

I am all for people qualifying for the scheme using their own cash to upgrade to a car they like. But the VAT exemptions must stop beyond where the car stops being a requirement to manage a good quality of life while living with a disability and starts becoming a luxury.

But out of interest, what modifications to a Range Rover are needed for anxiety?

Why can't people understand this? Is it wilful stupidity or genuine stupidity?

Even if you are paying for the upgrade yourself? I admit I know next to nothing about Motability but if you are paying the extra yourself then what's the problem?

Bit of a weird question when you can’t qualify for higher level mobility due to anxiety.

Public opinion.
Let's look tough on benefits.

Politics of envy.