Take it from a disabled person – Motability isn’t about f...

Take it from a disabled person – Motability isn’t about free cars

Hannah Deakin Published November 26, 2025 1:20pm Share this article via whatsappShare this article via xCopy the link to this article.Link is copiedShare this article via facebook Comment now Comments

The Motability scheme has come under fire recently (Picture: Hannah Deakin)

When I got the news I was going to get a wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) on the Motability scheme in 2012, I was thrilled.

Having spent four years in hospital, more than three of which I was totally bedbound, and another year and a half in a neurological centre, the thought of potential freedom was so exciting. 

I vowed I would never take it for granted.  

Since then, I’ve used my WAV to go to my friends’ weddings, become a godmother, be a bridesmaid, go on holiday – to try and live again. It has had a huge impact on my life and mental wellbeing.

So when I heard yesterday that Motability was cutting so-called ‘premium’ cars, including models by BMW and Mercedes, focusing instead on British-built vehicles and lower cost models, I felt uneasy.

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There are currently around 860,000 people with a Motability car in the UK. Around 50,000 of them drive ‘higher-end’ vehicles, and they pay for any additional costs out of their own pocket.

The Motability scheme has come under fire recently, with critics claiming it allows disabled people to use welfare payments to get access to a luxury vehicle. Those living with non-visible conditions such as depression and anxiety have been particularly vilified.

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These new measures will make precisely zero difference to the tax payer (Picture: Hannah Deakin)

This is reductive, ignorant and misinformed – and yet I worry that it’s made the scheme fair game in a moment when Rachel Reeves is trying to balance the books.

These new measures will make no major difference to the tax payer – in fact, given that the scheme involves individuals simply redirecting payments that have already been granted to them, they could scrap the scheme entirely and it would barely make a ripple.

And while I think an increased use of British built cars is a great initiative to boost the economy, I’m concerned the chancellor may see schemes like this as an opportunity to make arbitrary, inconsequential policy changes under the guise of broad economic reform.

This is a precedent we don’t want to set, because for people who use the Motability scheme, it’s not about blagging your way to a fancy car, scamming the system and misappropriating tax-payer funds.

This kind of vehicle is not a handout. Rather, it’s a lifeline for people like me. And I’m worried the whole thing could be under threat.

I was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) when I was 14. It’s a poorly understood neurological condition, in my case triggered by an injury, that leaves a person experiencing pain that is severe, debilitating and persistent.

I was determined to work hard to progress my life and challenge myself (Picture: Hannah Deakin)

CRPS affected my ability to walk, so I use a powerchair, and I need help in most aspects of my life – which is why I still live with my parents at 34.

Through all of this, I was determined to work hard to progress my life and challenge myself. I studied and now work part time as a finance administrator. I also enjoy swimming, which gives me great freedom and provides some pain relief and exercise.

 A WAV has been fundamental to my freedom and independence, enabling me to go to work and pursue my hobbies. Before I had it, I could only travel by blue light ambulance. 

 According to Scope – a charity that champions disability equality by providing practical information, emotional support and campaigning for a fairer society – disabled people need an extra £1,095 each month on average, just to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households.

Under the current system, some disabled people are eligible for a benefit known as Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is meant to help with the extra costs of being disabled.

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If you receive the mobility-enhanced rate of PIP, you can opt to lease a powerchair, mobility scooter or vehicle instead of receiving a monthly payment.

You don’t get a car for nothing. Because it’s a lease, you do not own the vehicle and, if you stop receiving the benefit, you’ll have to return it.

Then there’s the fact that most vehicles, especially more expensive ones, or those with more adaptations, require a non-refundable payment upfront.

This applies every time you lease a new vehicle (normally every three to five years), and can cost £20,000 or so, depending on the WAV you choose or the adaptations you need.

Those adaptations are important, not arbitrary, and they can have a huge impact on what car is available to you.

I need a good suspension due to severe pain (Picture: Hannah Deakin)

Firstly, sometimes disabled people need certain features, such as extra room for equipment,  that are only available on larger models, which are often more expensive.

In my case, I travel in my powerchair. I need a good suspension due to severe pain and, as I’m 6 ft 1, only fit in three of the models that were available.

One of them was too painful for me to ride in and the remaining options were a Mercedes Sprinter or the vehicle I eventually chose, a VW Transporter Shuttle, which typically starts from £48,775 unadapted. 

My WAV has a docking plate to secure my wheelchair, side lift, lowered floor and electric tailgate, as slamming the boot caused me significant pain and spasms.

I made a payment upfront and was lucky to also get support from the Motability Foundation (a charity that supports disabled people with the down payments on these vehicles).

When I initially got my car, I could only manage a mile or two at 20 mph, due to severe pain and spasms – but it was getting me out, and that was a turning point.

When changes are made to the Motability scheme, so much is put at risk for disabled people (Picture: Hannah Deakin)

Before long, I was using my WAV to go to hospital appointments, work, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and oxygen therapy, as well to visit friends and my godchildren. That has meant the world to me.

When changes are made to the Motability scheme, so much is put at risk for disabled people. Our access to healthcare, our ability to work, our mobility, our quality of life, our mental health.

As the scheme continues to come under scrutiny, I believe eligibility criteria should be reassessed, to ensure those with the severest disabilities don’t have the benefit removed.

The bottom line is that a service still needs to be provided, especially for those who require adaptations and WAVs, which are unaffordable for most disabled people.

I promised myself I would never take the Motability scheme for granted, and I never have.

I just have to hope that its days aren’t numbered.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Share your views in the comments below.

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