What is Motability Scheme?

Full Definition

The Motability Scheme lets disabled people who receive the enhanced rate of the PIP mobility component, the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, the highest rate mobility supplement of War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement, or the Armed Forces Independence Payment exchange some or all of that qualifying benefit for the lease of a new car, powered scooter, or powered wheelchair through Motability Operations, the not-for-profit organisation that runs the scheme under contract with the Department for Work and Pensions. The lease is typically for three years for a car (or longer for a scooter or powered wheelchair) and bundles together the vehicle itself, comprehensive insurance for the disabled person and up to two named additional drivers, servicing and routine maintenance, tyre and windscreen replacement, and breakdown assistance into a single package funded from the mobility payment. Because the entire package is designed to be paid for out of the mobility benefit alone, many cars on the scheme require no additional payment beyond the benefit itself, though higher-specification vehicles or those with adaptations can require an additional one-off "advance payment" on top of the ongoing benefit. Vehicles can be adapted for a wide range of disabilities, including hand controls, swivel seats, wheelchair-accessible vehicle conversions, and other adaptations, many available at no extra cost through the scheme's advice service, making it a significant enabler of independent mobility for people who might otherwise struggle to afford or maintain a suitable vehicle. A key risk of the scheme is that it depends entirely on continued entitlement to the qualifying mobility benefit: since 2013, hundreds of thousands of PIP mobility component reassessments have resulted in some claimants losing the enhanced rate (often after a change in assessment outcome or points threshold interpretation, even without any change in the claimant's actual condition), which immediately ends eligibility to remain on the Motability Scheme and can trigger early termination of the lease. Motability Operations offers some transitional support -- including a limited-time "Transitional Support" payment for those losing eligibility -- but claimants who successfully appeal a PIP decision after losing their vehicle are not automatically guaranteed reinstatement of the same vehicle, making PIP mobility reassessments a significant source of anxiety for scheme users.

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