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.

James OB talking about this topic right now. This Motability story is being pushed pushed pushed - by who? Ask yourselves

Once again, plenty of disabled people are working and paying tax. Tax that, if you’re so poor that you’re unable to buy a car, is probably going towards something else you claim or benefit from. If you’re not earning enough for your liking, get off Mumsnet, stop sponging and get a better job.

That's a bit of a reach?! How is that poster jealous of people with disabilities?

Wow.

Because the money spent on basic vs, what op perceives as, luxury, is the same for the taxpayer regardless.

She just doesn't want disabled people to have nice things because she doesn't.

Not a reach at all.

Well, I'm certainly not getting into an argument about all this, or being accused of ANYthing, so I'm out. All I will say is it's the GOVERNMENT who are putting a stop to this. Soooooo, well.... They clearly think it needs to stop.

As has been said, I am baffled it was ever allowed, but I'm out.

I think that what annoys some people is that the monthly payment for the car is not just for the vehicle lease but that it covers RFT, insurance, servicing etc . It is quite obvious that the true monthly cost to the state is far more than the monthly benefit.
The state picking up the cost of RFT/Insurance/service is much more on a ‘luxury’ car than a more basic model - the thought being that if you can afford the very large down payment on one of these vehicles then you can afford to pay these running costs yourself.

Not to mention the fact that if he was confined to his room he would probably then be costing the sainted taxpayer a hell of a lot more than he is now.

Bloody hell (misses point of thread) £500 PCM!!! Im a high mileage driver; 25k a year and I was only quoted £250 for a top end of the range Yaris (not that I did it). I think she needs to shop around!
Stop bashing the disabled I work with many none are driving around in BMWs or Mercs. And even if they are best of luck to them I would t swap their lives for mine even if I could trade in my now battered car for a brand new Mercedes.

Also, disabilities cost money - medical devices, additional travel costs, specialist equipment etc. just because someone earns well, why shouldn't they receive support for the extra stuff they need that they wouldn't if they were not disabled?

Plus the fat most disability service access is determined by whether you receive certain disability benefits.

They aren’t being subsidised, they are choosing to use the motability component of their PIP/DLA to pay towards a lease vehicle. Do you have any idea of the additional costs incurred by being disabled?

If they have their own additional funds, through hard work etc, why shouldn’t they choose a more luxury model. Lots of disabled people are in chronic pain, they need to be comfortable and more expensive cars generally more comfortable.

Look, if a disabled person worked, received the motability component of PIP into their bank account instead and leased the vehicle privately, you wouldn’t batt and eyelid at which car they chose. You only care because they are getting it through a scheme set up for disabled people. It would still cost the government/taxpayer the same amount though at the end of the day.

What a judgemental person you are.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/motability-scheme-benefits-andrew-miller-charity-b2721798.html

The company’s latest filings show a total salary bill of £100.8m in 2024. The highest-paid director – understood to be CEO Andrew Miller – received a salary of £460,000 and a total package worth £747,000, down slightly from £765,000 the previous year.
Collectively, directors earned a £1.2m in salary rising to £3.4m overall, including pensions and benefits.
Meanwhile the controversial motor scheme, which allows people claiming a qualifying mobility allowance such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to lease a car, has swelled to include more than 815,000 users – up by 165,000 in just two years.

My friend and his family have to save every penny to afford the downpayment, adaptations and removal of certain adaptations when their lease ends. They would never be able to afford increased costs. In what world do you think people who need WAVs can easily afford thousands of pounds everytime a lease is up?

Can you explain WHY - what difference does it make to you or anyone else, since it's the SAME cost to the taxpayer?

You're either totally irrational or you have an ideological agenda.

The state doesn’t pay the the insurance, servicing etc, the motability scheme does. The motability scheme isn’t funded by the government, so how is the government paying for the servicing, insurance etc?

I’m still waiting for this British standard model that can take a large and heavy powerchair, two children in car seats and a second adult.

A a point of order, £77 a week is actually £333 a month, not £240. And, with a suitable advance payment, any number of 'premium' cars can be leased for a lot less than this. The whole demonisation of Motability, which is simply a leasing company that accepts the higher rate of PIP as a payment, is classic left politics of envy.

The solution to the 'problem' of too many people accessing Motability cars is to tighten up on the qualifying criteria for higher rate PIP. But, that means reforming disability benefits, and the Government doesn't have the support of it's MPs to do that. Another route is to remove the VAT exemption from the disabled - again, something that Labour has already done with education, so why not not. Except, there are more disabled than children in higher education

As an aside, anyone paying £500 for a Yaris on a lease has been mis-sold, ripped off or otherwise taken advantage of/. Unless of course that's an HP payment...

Interesting to reflect on the fact that reducing the number of new cars sold is just going to make second hand cars more expensive in the future, impacting a whole heap more people.

@Sunita1234
Well the government disagrees with you - not just this current government but the Tories who first introduced the Act that brought DLA to existence (John Major in 1991). PIP was also a Tory creation. Clearly they believed disabled people could have benefits, regardless of income, to spend AS THEY WISH.

Clearly for Tories to be involved in creating benefits for those who are disabled they saw a benefit to the economy.

Motability was created by Lord Goodman and Jeffrey Sterling in 1977 with various disability charities and then Motability, a separate entity was created (a charity separate from government control). Motability does NOT exist via government funding, unless one flips it to say if DLA/AA/PIP didn’t exist nor would Motability but that’s speculation about what would happen if radical benefits changes occurred - and guess what - Motability, as an independent charity might just carry on doing what it does.

Motability does not get grants or subsidies as per statements by some pps above.

It doesn’t need to. It’s very much in profit. Do you think the government gives money to a charity in profit for no reason?

Charities that DO get grants from the government include Bernardo’s, Action For Children, multiple housing associations registered as charities, The Salvation Army, Turning Point.

As the UK is so broke should the government cease grants and subsidies to those charities also?

Well clearly the company running it is raking it in, and it's that that should be targeted, NOT the individuals who need the scheme.

Oh don’t worry, once they’ve stopped banging on about disabled people getting ‘free’ luxury cars at their expense, they’ll be after your subsidised Freedom Pass too.

This. Just this. Thank you!

And thats fine, this way they can still claim just a standard car model

Thank you for pointing this out.

I've had to explain this to people so often that I've seriously considered having it printed on cards that I can hand out. The enhanced rate of mobility comes to over £300 a month now, so it's quite a chunk of money people are giving up.

If someone getting PIP wants to pay more to have a better car, why shouldn't they? It's no different from the choices that those of us who don't have disabilities and impaired mobility make every time we choose a new car.

They are being subsidised because they aren’t paying VAT within the scheme (which is right IMO!). If a disabled person chose to lease a luxury car outside of the motobility scheme they would pay VAT.