[1] According to Citizen's Advice, access to the scheme is dependent on eligibility relative to mobility conditions in government schemes, including: Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP) or War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement.
[3] In 2018, the National Audit Office praised the customer satisfaction rates for the service, but criticised the profit and reserve levels the charity held.
"[4] A response to a 2019 parliamentary committee to release £343 million of its £2.5bn reserve was greeted as a "first step" to making best use of its "vast sums.
Since 1978, over three million[7] cars, scooters and powered wheelchairs have been provided to help disabled people with their mobility needs.
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.
Thus, Motability was born in 1977 to enable disabled people to 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.
The garden included a Motability car, an adapted Renault Clio, to symbolize disabled people gaining access to the remotest parts of the countryside.
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".
This payment is made automatically by the Department for Work and Pensions or Veterans UK to Motability Operations under the authority of a CP50 form signed by the hirer.
In addition, means-tested grants are available from the Motability charity for those who, because of 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.
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 agreement.
Splitting the organisation is intended to provide for checks and balances and ensure accountability for the administration of public funds.
The National Audit Office in 2018 [15] and a parliamentary committee of 2019 [16] challenged how this reinvestment was being used, both in terms of its reserves (over £2.5bn) and executive reward "at near maximum" levels.
Direct Line require any persons wishing to be one of the three named drivers to have no or possibly some minor endorsements on their driving licence in the last five years.
Customers have started to be reassessed and as a result in some cases no longer receive an allowance that entitles them to access the Motability Scheme.
On 7 December 2018 the National Audit Office published its report on Motability which upheld many criticisms of executive pay and reserves policy.
It also found that Motability had charged customers more than £390 million more than necessary for car leases over the past ten years and that the then CEO was entitled to further payments beyond those that had already been disclosed.