Rachel Reeves warned against ‘dire’ cuts to Motability in Budget by over 40 disability charities
Dozens of leading disability charities have called on Rachel Reeves not to cut Motability in Wednesday’s budget; because the chancellor is reportedly considering cutting up to £1bn in tax breaks for the programme.
Motability, which rents around 300,000 vehicles a year to eligible disabled people, has been the subject of intense debate in recent months; because some politicians disagree on whether it provides good value for taxpayers.
The reported proposals envisage that vehicles rented through the scheme will no longer be exempt from VAT and insurance premium tax, meaning more claimants will be required to make advance payments for their vehicles.
In the open letter shared IndependentDisability charity Transport for All and 41 other groups warn the changes could have “dire consequences” because disabled people would be “priced out of the scheme”. They add that the proposals leave many people facing “high levels of uncertainty and anxiety.”
Signatories, including Disability Rights UK, Guide Dogs and Whiz Kids, argue that the changes could add £3,000 to even the cheapest Motability vehicles, despite the average household income of the average customer being £18,500 (half the UK average).
Estimates suggest the changes could bring in around £1.2 billion, but behavioral factors make this highly uncertain.
Aid organizations have also criticized misinformation circulating about the program and called on the government to promote better understanding of how it works.
Mobility has been around in some form since 1977, but has come under increased scrutiny in recent years due to a sudden increase in customers. The number of people owning a Motability car has increased by nearly 200,000 in two years to 815,000.
The program allows people with severe disabilities to buy a car by using part of their income to pay for the lease. It is mostly open to people claiming a qualifying mobility allowance through Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Following Labour’s disastrous U-turn on welfare cuts earlier this year (largely focused on PIP), the chancellor told this parliament in October that he “cannot leave welfare untouched” and Motability is understood to be in the Treasury’s purview.
On the eve of the budget, Motability Operations, the company running the scheme, announced it would “immediately” remove premium brand cars such as BMW and Mercedes as an option to “focus on vehicles that meet the needs of disabled people and represent value and purpose”.
However, a small portion of customers rent these vehicles; brands account for about 40,000, or 5 percent, of the cars in the program.
Sophia Kleanthous, senior campaigns and PR officer at Transport for All, said: “This Budget is about the kind of country we want to be. We should all have the freedom to take the journeys we want and need, but public transport still leaves many of us out.
“Cutting off our only route of passage betrays disabled people and robs us of our independence. Does the Chancellor want to invest in equality or make life harder for disabled people?”
