The controversial Motability charity scheme handed out more than half a billion pounds of taxpayers’ cash in sweeteners to benefits claimants, enticing them to buy new cars, the Mail can reveal.
The cash, worth £750 to each claimant, either goes directly into their bank accounts without being subject to any government clawback if a more basic car is selected, or towards the upfront cost of a plusher model.
Motability then receives money directly from the taxpayer as benefits claimants eligible for the higher rates according to their ‘mobility’ can exchange their weekly amount for a new vehicle, with the higher rate claimed via the Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance.
A Mail investigation has found Motability paid £540.9million out in ‘new vehicle payments’ to 748,000 people since 2022.
The charity’s new vehicle payment – which ran from 2022 until January this year – helped it increase its customer base by 170,000 last year to a record-high of 815,000, with around one in five of all new cars in Britain purchased through it.
Motability, which provides vehicles to those with qualifying disabilities, came under fire after the Mail revealed it was holding more than £4billion in reserves while receiving at least £2.5billion each year directly from the Department of Work and Pensions.
Founded as a charity in 1977, Motability was set up to help those with physical disabilities get around or provide vehicles with necessary adaptations.
Founded as a charity in 1977, Motability was set up to help those with physical disabilities get around or provide vehicles with necessary adaptations.
But it emerged record numbers are using the scheme while claiming benefits for conditions including ADHD, depression and even obesity.
In exchange for their disability benefit – set at £75.75 each week – and an upfront payment of £7,999, claimants could drive away with a £50,000 BMW i4 M Sport or a Mercedes-Benz CLA Coupe, with insurance, road tax, servicing, breakdown cover and tyre and windscreen repair all included.
Research by the Taxpayers’ Alliance found that the number of those eligible for enhanced disability benefits – and therefore a Motability vehicle – has increased by 439 per cent since 2016.
William Yarwood, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Taxpayers are being taken for a ride by the Motability scheme. Not only can you get a subsidised top-of-the-line electric car with VAT and insurance exemptions, but now the state is bribing benefits claimants to get on to the scheme.
‘Ministers need to take a hard look at Motability and crack down on the scheme before the costs accelerate.’
A Motability spokesman said: ‘Money made from the sale of used cars goes back into the Scheme, and we used higher than planned profit to invest in disabled people’s travel.’
