Motability
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Motability is a United Kingdom scheme which enables disabled people to obtain a car, powered wheelchair or scooter by using their Government-funded mobility allowances.
The Motability Scheme, founded in 1977 by Lord Sterling of Plaistow and the late Lord Goodman, is a partnership between the charitable sector, Government, leading banks, motor and insurance industries. Since 1978 over two million[1] cars, scooters and powered wheelchairs have been provided to help disabled people with their mobility needs.
HM The Queen has been the Chief Patron of Motability since its foundation.
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[edit] History and beginnings
By the mid 1970s almost every household in the country owned a car but disabled people were missing out. Only those who could drive themselves received any government help with transport, usually in the form of a small, blue trike which was unable to take passengers.
The Mobility Allowance (now called the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance), introduced by the Government in 1976, broke the mould in giving help regardless of ability to drive. It also signalled the Government's commitment to giving disabled people choice in the form of a cash allowance, rather than imposing certain types of vehicles on them.
The Mobility Allowance was a positive advance but it soon became clear that it was not enough to buy and run even the smallest car. So, the then Secretary of State for Health and Social Services invited the late Lord Goodman and (now lord) Jeffrey Sterling to consider how disabled people could use this allowance to affordably obtain a vehicle.
Thus Motability was born in 1977 and, often for the first time, disabled people could afford a good quality car , from any participating manufacturer, fully insured, serviced and with breakdown assistance. Motability was set up as a charity so it could also raise funds and make grants, in order to provide customers with a complete mobility package even if their allowance would not cover the type of car and adaptations that they needed.
Motability opened up new horizons – things that were once hard to accomplish became easier for many more disabled people such as shopping, doing voluntary work, visiting friends, getting to the doctor, going swimming, giving a family member a lift or enjoying a driving holiday. For some, enhanced opportunities for further education and profitable full-time employment also became a reality for the first time.
On 25 July 1978 ten young people attended the first Motability Scheme vehicle handover at Earls Court in London and received the keys to their new vehicles from then Chairman Lord Goodman. Julie Newport, disabled by polio, was one of the ten to receive her keys and commented: "I think it's marvellous," saying the Scheme gave disabled people the freedom and independence they really wanted. Also present were Rt Hon Lord Morris, Rt Hon Lord Jenkin, Allan Beard and Lord Sterling, the present Chairman of Motability.
In 2003, Motability celebrated its 25th anniversary with a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. The garden included a Motability car, an adapted Renault Clio, to symbolise disabled people gaining access to the remotest parts of the countryside.
In October 2006, the Scheme hit the two million vehicles mark and Lord Sterling commented: "Family life revolves around the disabled person so if you make someone mobile you don't help two million, it's more like six to eight million."
The late Lord Goodman described the establishment of Motability in 1977 as "the most successful achievement of my career and the most fortunate thought that ever came into my head".
[edit] How the scheme works
The Scheme is open to anyone who receives either the Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance or the War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement, and has at least 12 months' award length remaining when they apply.
Customers simply exchange their Government funded mobility allowance for a car, powered wheelchair or scooter. The most popular option, chosen by over 95% of customers, is the contract hire of a new car, which offers worry free motoring at affordable prices. Customers choose a new car every three years with insurance, road tax, servicing, tyres and breakdown cover all included in a single monthly payment.
Over 480,000 customers currently choose Motability for their mobility needs and 97% would recommend the Scheme to their friends. Around two-thirds of Motability’s customers drive their own vehicle, but non-drivers can get a car as a passenger. Similarly, parents and carers can also apply on behalf of a disabled child from the age of three.
Once their application has been accepted, the customer uses all, or part, of their allowance to pay for their vehicle for the period of the contract hire or hire purchase agreement. Over 300 models of car are currently available to lease with no advance payment – larger or more expensive models may entail this additional cost.
There are no medical assessments, no credit checks, and no waiting lists associated with Motability.
[edit] Structure of the Scheme
Motability (registered charity no: 299745) has overall responsibility for the Motability Scheme, including:
• Directing and overseeing the Scheme; • Raising funds to provide financial help to customers who would otherwise be unable to participate in the Scheme; • Administering the Government's Specialised Vehicles Fund which provides financial assistance for customers who need complex adaptations or to travel in their wheelchairs; and • Providing technical support to customers and the adaptation and conversion industry.
The Motability Car Scheme is administered on a contract basis by Motability Operations, a not-for-profit private company which specialises in sourcing and delivering motoring services to disabled people. Motability Operations’ activities are overseen by Motability.
The largest fleet operator in Europe and the largest supplier of used cars in the trade, Motability Operations is owned by the five major clearing banks – Barclays, HBOS, Lloyds TSB, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland. Motability Operations offers customers suitable and affordable cars through contract hire and hire purchase schemes, payable directly through mobility benefits.
Motability Operations’ annual turnover is around £990 million with assets worth £2.5 billion. Any surpluses are continually reinvested in the business for the benefit of customers. Motability Operations sells over 130,000 used cars a year and the company's car purchase accounts for approximately six percent of total new car sales in the UK. Since the Scheme started, over two million cars have been supplied.
The Wheelchair and Scooter Scheme is operated by Route2mobility, a limited company, under contract to Motability.
