In a month where health and disability benefits have taken front stage in UK politics, the government-backed Motability scheme has begun making headlines once again.
This is the programme that enables people will serious disabilities to get a car by using a portion of their benefits to pay for a lease. It is open to people that claim a qualifying mobility allowance, most commonly through the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
The scheme has been around in some form since 1977, but has come under increased scrutiny in recent years due to a sudden spike in customers. The number of people with a Motability car has risen to by around 200,000 over two years, to 815,000.
This rise tracks with the increased proportion of people claiming health-related benefits in the years following the Covid pandemic. Last week, the government announced welfare cuts worth £5 billion over the next four years as they attempt to lower Treasury spending in this area.
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The bulk of the cuts are understood to come from changes to PIP, which will effectively become harder to claim due to a change in the eligibility criteria. This will have an indirect impact on Motability, as many less people will have a benefit which qualifies them to claim it.
What is Motability?
The Motability scheme allows benefit claimants to use their allowance to pay for a car on a three-year lease. They must be claiming one of just six specific mobility-related allowances. This could be through PIP, the Disability Living Allowance, War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement and a few others.
Why is Motability important?
The Motability scheme is designed to make car use accessible for disabled people. Earlier this month, a report from the Transport Committee found that 29 per cent of disabled adults do not have access to a car, compared to 16 per cent of non-disabled adults.
This is because disabled people are disproportionately more likely to be facing financial hardship, with many people relying on the benefits they can claim for a steady income.
Disability expert Dr Mark Carew says the scheme “gives disabled people choice and independence – the ability to go places they might not have been able to otherwise.”
“It is a right that disabled people should be able to participate in society,” says the professor, who is based at the International Centre for Evidence in Disability at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
He adds: “We’ve still got a lot of work to do in the UK to fix our transport system, but the Motability scheme goes some way to addressing the problems disabled people encounter in the meantime.”
Dean, 57, from Bradford recently told The Independent how he relies on PIP for access to Motability, which greatly improves his ability to live independently.
“If they cut it, I’ll lose me car, me independence,” he said, “I’ll just become a house recluse because I won’t be able to get out anywhere.”
Why has the scheme caused controversy?
Motability has been the subject of intense criticism in recent days as pundits and politicians take aim at what they say is an unfair scheme.
There has been some criticism in the past over Motability sitting on excess capital reserves – £4 billion in September 2024, although they defend that as being tied up in their fleet – as well as high executive pay. A 2018 National Audit Office (NAO) report revealed former CEO Mike Betts was receiving an undisclosed £2.2m on top of his £1.7m salary, prompting the businessman to resign.
The scheme is run by a private company which is overseen by a charitable foundation. After leasing the cars out, the company sells them on and reinvests profit back into the scheme, rather than to shareholders.
More recently, some have argued that disabled people should not be entitled to a ‘free car’ with taxpayer money, while others say the eligibility to qualify for the scheme is too lax. Reform MP Richard Tice wrote on X last week that Motability granted cars to “bed-wetting boy racers.”
However, both of these talking points miss some key aspects of Motability. Firstly, the lease must be paid for by disabled people through certain benefits, so they are not free. Dr Carew explains: “The scheme does not cost the taxpayer a penny more compared to if it wasn’t there - it is based on the PIP award.”
People who use Motability cars are severely disabled people who are “shut out” by the UK’s inaccessible transport system, adds the expert who is part of the team at the Disability Policy Centre.
“The Scheme means they can undertake journeys they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. That’s good for disabled people and their families but also for the UK as it gives disabled people better opportunities to pursue things like education and jobs. All at no extra cost to the taxpayer, which sounds like a bargain to me.”
Eligibility for the scheme is also tightly constrained to just six benefits. The mobility element of PIP is not, as some would suggest, an ‘easy’ benefit to claim, requiring stringent assessment. In fact, evidence would suggest far less people get it than are entitled to it.
However, responding to recent criticism, the scheme’s bosses have confirmed it will look at some of its rules after removing 5,300 customers from the service last year. This includes reviewing three-person allowance for its cars and potentially increasing GPS tracking to monitor use.
Can you buy luxury cars with Motability?
A good proportion of the outrage around Motability has focused on the idea that disabled people able to access subsidised luxury cars like BMWs and Mercedes-Benz through the scheme.
There is some truth to this: customers can access premium vehicles through the scheme. However they make advance payments for vehicles like this out-of-pocket, which can be up to £8,000. Oftentimes, they will also require the customer’s entire mobility allowance to be claimed every month.
Perhaps unsurprisingly then, economy vehicles make up 96 per cent of the Motability fleet. A Kia Picanto, for instance, has a £0 advance payment and £68.25 weekly cost. There is also a value limit of £45,000 on petrol and diesel cars, and £55,000 for electric vehicles.
Much of the misguided outrage around this issue was prompted by an online video of a young man who claimed the government had ‘bought him’ a £34,000 car because he is autistic. Upon looking into his case, Motability confirmed that he had actually been rejected from the scheme.
Yet another lesson to not believe everything you see online.
A spokesperson from Motability Operations, which runs the Motability Scheme, said:“Motability Scheme vehicles exist to meet the needs of disabled people - giving 815,000 individuals the freedom to get to work, school, medical appointments, and live independently.
“The Scheme is not only life-changing for its users, with those on the Scheme working 14 hours more a week than those not and in doing so delivers real value to the UK economy - generating £1.50 in economic benefit for every £1 of disability allowance spent.”
