Motability
Encyclopedia
Motability is a United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 scheme which enables disabled people to obtain a car
Čar
Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...

, powered wheelchair or scooter by using their Government-funded mobility allowances.

The Motability Scheme, founded in 1977 by Lord Sterling of Plaistow
Jeffrey Sterling, Baron Sterling of Plaistow
Jeffrey Sterling, Baron Sterling of Plaistow, GCVO, CBE , is a British businessman. He was executive chairman of the shipping line P&O from 1983 to 2005, having joined the board as a non-executive Director on 6 February 1980...

 and the late Lord Goodman, is a partnership between the charitable sector, Government, leading banks, and the motor and insurance industries. Since 1978 over three million cars, scooters and powered wheelchairs have been provided to help disabled people with their mobility needs.

HM The Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

 has been the Chief Patron of Motability since its foundation.

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 blue trike which was unable to take passengers.

The Mobility Allowance - now called the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance
Disability Living Allowance
Disability living allowance is a non-means-tested, non-contributory benefit which can be claimed by a UK resident aged under 65 years who has care and/or mobility needs as a result of a mental or physical disability...

 - 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 large enough to buy and run even the smallest car. The then Secretary of State
Secretary of State (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, a Secretary of State is a Cabinet Minister in charge of a Government Department ....

 for Health and Social Services invited the late Lord Goodman and (now lord) Jeffrey Sterling
Jeffrey Sterling, Baron Sterling of Plaistow
Jeffrey Sterling, Baron Sterling of Plaistow, GCVO, CBE , is a British businessman. He was executive chairman of the shipping line P&O from 1983 to 2005, having joined the board as a non-executive Director on 6 February 1980...

 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
Čar
Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...

 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 for many disabled people. Things that were once difficult to do, such as getting to work, going shopping, doing volunteer work, visiting friends, getting to the doctor, going swimming, giving a family member a lift, or enjoying a driving holiday, became easier. For some, enhanced opportunities for further education and profitable full-time employment became a reality for the first time.

On 25 July 1978 ten young people attended the first Motability Scheme vehicle handover at Earls Court
Earls Court
Earls Court is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It is an inner-city district centred on Earl's Court Road and surrounding streets, located 3.1 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It borders the sub-districts of South Kensington to the East, West...

 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
Jeffrey Sterling, Baron Sterling of Plaistow
Jeffrey Sterling, Baron Sterling of Plaistow, GCVO, CBE , is a British businessman. He was executive chairman of the shipping line P&O from 1983 to 2005, having joined the board as a non-executive Director on 6 February 1980...

, the present Chairman of Motability.

In 2003, Motability celebrated its 25th anniversary with a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show
Chelsea Flower Show
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the Great Spring Show, is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural Society in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in Chelsea, London...

. The garden included a Motability car, an adapted Renault Clio
Renault Clio
The Renault Clio is a supermini car produced by the French automobile manufacturer Renault. Originally launched in 1990, it is currently in its third generation...

, 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
Jeffrey Sterling, Baron Sterling of Plaistow
Jeffrey Sterling, Baron Sterling of Plaistow, GCVO, CBE , is a British businessman. He was executive chairman of the shipping line P&O from 1983 to 2005, having joined the board as a non-executive Director on 6 February 1980...

 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".

How the scheme works

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is not means tested. It is a benefit designed to help towards the additional living costs incurred by people with disabilities and is broken into two components, Mobility and Care. The Care component is valued at three different rates; lower, middle and higher, and the Mobility component at two different rates; lower and higher.

The Scheme is open to anyone who receives either the Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance or the War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement. Those wishing to lease through Motability must have at least twelve months' award length remaining when they apply. The Care Component of DLA cannot be used to fund a vehicle through the scheme.

Customers choose a new car every three or five years with insurance, road tax, servicing, tyres and breakdown cover all included in a single monthly payment. This payment is made automatically by the Department for Work and Pensions
Department for Work and Pensions
The Department for Work and Pensions is the largest government department in the United Kingdom, created on June 8, 2001 from the merger of the employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security and headed by the Secretary of State for Work and...

 to Motability Operations under the authority of a form CP50 signed by the hirer. At the end of the contract period, the customer can choose to take another brand new vehicle. The customer may also wish to purchase their current vehicle directly from Motability at the end of their contract either for their own use or a friend's.

While many vehicles do not require the customer to pay anything above their higher rate Mobility component, the customer may choose to opt for a higher specified model on payment of an Advance Payment which is non-returnable. Means tested grants are available to those who, due to the nature of their disability, have no option but to choose a vehicle which attracts an advance payment, or who may need special adaptations not already funded through the scheme. Many adaptations, such as push/pull brake/accelerator levers, are now also funded directly through the scheme so that the customer does not have to pay extra.

Market Penetration

Over 560,000 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 caregivers 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
Čar
Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...

 are currently available to lease with no advance payment – larger or more expensive models may entail this additional cost.

The largest fleet operator in Europe and the largest supplier of used cars in the trade, Motability Operations is owned by five major clearing banks – Barclays, HBOS, Lloyds TSB, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Motability Operations’ annual turnover is around £990 million with assets worth £2.5 billion. Any surpluses are continually reinvested in the business. Motability Operations sells over 130,000 used cars a year and the company's car purchases account for approximately six percent of total new car sales in the UK. Since the Scheme started, over two million cars have been supplied.

Structure of the scheme

The organisational structure of the scheme can be broken into two parts: Motability, which is a registered charity, and Motability Operations (formerly Motability Finance Ltd), a not for profit organisation which consist of five clearing banks. Splitting the organisation is intended to provide for checks and balances and ensure accountability for the administration of public funds.

Motability is a registered charity and has overall responsibility for the Motability Scheme, including:
  • Directing and overseeing the Scheme;
  • Raising funds to provide financial assistance through grants 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.


Motability Operations has the exclusive contract for administering the scheme. It is a not-for-profit private company. It also sets and monitors the standards of service provided by the dealer network, adaptations suppliers, breakdown company and the insurance company. Motability Operations also negotiates pricing with the vehicle manufacturers on a quarterly basis.

Insurance is provided exclusively by Royal and Sun Alliance who have a dedicated Motability division. Royal and Sun Alliance require any persons wishing to be one of the two named drivers to have none or possibly some minor endorsements on their Driving License in the last 5 years. Drink Driving convictions definitely require 5 years from conviction date to be eligible for insurance on a Motability car.

Breakdown cover is provided exclusively by the RAC
RAC
-Companies:* Rent-A-Center, an American public furniture and electronics rent to own company* Royal Automobile Club, a private club in Pall Mall, London* RAC plc, a breakdown company in the United Kingdom...

.

Adaptations are supplied and fitted by independent specialists who are accredited to Motability.

Customers apply via accredited main car dealerships.

The Wheelchair and Scooter Scheme will be operated by Route2mobility until June 2010 at which time it will also be taken over by Motability Operations.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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