Thw latest possible attack on Mobility cars
If this artical is correct, then getting a Mobillity car is going to become a lot more expensive.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/reeves-plans-motability-scheme-shake-up-budget/
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The Treasury is running a full sweep of Motability tax exemptions ahead of the November Budget, and Reeves is reportedly eyeing some hefty changes. For the first time, VAT could be slapped onto Motability vehicles, and Insurance Premium Tax might be added to Motability insurance, both currently tax-free.
That would mean a sharp rise in costs to supply mobility cars, with disabled drivers facing higher fees just to lease them. Reeves is also looking at narrowing the range of models available through the scheme.
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She is taking it out on vunerable yet again, disabled, state pension. For her inability to calculate anything. Scrap the digital ID, for a start. Chagos Islands, other barm pot stuff. She be taxing us for air next
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not sure how to add To my last picture. Maybe these things will be revived.
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She was interviewed shock horror she said more welfare cuts and stated labour MPs are on agreement that it needs to change shock horror
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Nothing new then.
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Removing the most expensive cars from the Motability range is hardly an "attack" on the disabled, is it? Savings have to be made somewhere..
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Many people assume disabled drivers are all in top of the range vehicles and that removing a few luxury models would be fine. But that is not what is happening.
The proposed tax changes, adding VAT to all Motability leases and Insurance Premium Tax to essential cover, do not just affect prestige models. They hit everyone, including those who rely on adapted vehicles, wheelchair ramps and specialist controls to drive safely or transport disabled children.
Most Motability cars are chosen for practicality, not prestige. And when access is taxed, families are priced out of mobility, not luxury.
Now reports suggest the Labour government is considering applying VAT to all taxi and private hire journeys, a move expected to raise prices for passengers who rely on these services, including many disabled people. At the same time, changes to free travel passes are underway, with some councils tightening local eligibility and the national age threshold for older people's bus passes rising.
While the government describes these steps as part of broader budget reforms, I fear they risk deepening transport inequality and quietly locking disabled adults and children out of everyday life.
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That would mean a sharp rise in costs to supply mobility cars, with disabled drivers facing higher fees just to lease them. Reeves is also looking at narrowing the range of models available through the scheme.The proposed changes would not affect anyone's current lease with Motability. That privilege rests with the DWP.
Removing Mercedes, Audi, BMW models from the scheme is not an "attack" on the disabled. I think there's a misconception that disabled people deserve the best of everything. They don't. People are objecting to the prospect of using second-hand Motability vehicles...well, I have never owned or even driven a new car!
Millions of families not on benefits can't afford to run a car or are forced into debt where there's no public transport. Millions of disabled claimants like myself have been denied their lawful benefits and forced to wait seven more years for a cushy State Pension. I do have extra costs associated with being disabled but none of the perks. I am glad for those who do get theirs but this is what they mean by levelling up.
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Scope is mentioned in this article.
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A Vauxhall Astra is good enough, no need for a BMW.
Those requiring a car derived van, what's wrong with a Vauxhall Combo or Citroën Berlingo etc?
I have had 4 cars from Motability, 2 were basic cars, the last 2 were nicer, but that was due to the choices available; if it hadn't been, i would have been contest enough with another Astra.
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Your claim that “current leases won’t be affected because that privilege rests with the DWP” is incorrect.
Motability leases are private agreements with Motability Operations, not the DWP. The DWP handles mobility payments but does not control lease terms, insurance, or vehicle supply.
If Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) is added, costs could rise mid lease, since insurance renews annually. The DWP does not shield customers from tax changes; any protections would require government action.
Motability is not a luxury. It is essential for those who cannot use public transport. Some higher end vehicles remain on the scheme because they support vital adaptations, ramp suspension, boot space, swivel seats, and safety technology. These are not preferences. They are necessities, and must remain available for those who need them.
I understand many working people struggle to afford a car. But most still have options, walking, cycling, taxis, or public transport. For those with physical mobility needs, those options often do not exist.
I hear what you are saying about the pension age. I am still working 30 hours a week too, like millions of others.
I understand that you are frustrated. But pitting disabled people against other struggling groups does not help anyone. Yes, the system is broken. But disability support is not a perk. It is a lifeline.
Try telling a parent of a severely disabled child that having a sick child is a “perk.” I lost my daughter years ago. I would have given my house, my car, everything I owned to see her healthy and alive. Her struggles were never a perk, not for her, and not for us as a family.
I am sorry the system has let you down. But we should be standing together to demand better, not turning on those who need support to survive. Some burdens are not chosen, and some support is not optional, however unfair it seems.
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Can I ask where anybody has said that having a severely disabled child is a perk or even suggested it?
My reading of what has been said is that the most expensive cars of which according to the article I posted there are 40,000 are a luxury. Also that second hand cars could be considered. I am not suggesting that this should happen, but if cuts have to happen they have to come from somewhere, and I am sure no one wants means testing to become even a thought.
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I happen to have one of the more expensive vehicles available. It was not from choice. It was the only one available that met my needs and the only one Motability could offer me. So removing the most expensive vehicles is going to be an attack on (some) disabled people.
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Nobody "needs" a Polo GTI (£3,999 advance payment) though, do they? There are others available that also defy logic.
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No one has directly said that having a severely disabled child is a perk. That’s precisely the point.
When someone says “I have none of the perks” of being disabled, while discussing Motability vehicles that thousands of disabled people children and their families rely on, it implies that others do receive perks simply for being recognised as disabled or for caring for a disabled child.
So yes, I challenged it. Try telling a parent of a severely disabled child that having a sick child is a “perk.”
When we start viewing disabled children and adults, and the families who receive mobility vehicles as beneficiaries of perks, we shift the conversation from need to envy. And that shift is dangerous. Support is not a perk. I genuinely struggle to understand how anyone could view it that way.
It is a response to relentless, often invisible costs, borne daily by disabled people and their families.
If that cannot be recognised, then fairness is not what’s being questioned. It is the validity of disabled lives themselves.
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