Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish the methodology and assumptions behind HMRC’s 2024 forecast that Motability’s VAT reliefs will have cost £1.21 billion in 2024-25.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC publishes estimates of the costs of tax reliefs in its annual Non-structural tax relief statistics publication.

The last publication on 5 December 2024 showed an estimate and forecast for the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 of £1,210m for the relief “Vehicles and other supplies to disabled people (vehicles only)”. This includes the cost of VAT reliefs for supplies of vehicles to disabled people, including but not limited to Motability.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will release the methodology and assumptions behind HMRC’s estimate that Motability’s VAT reliefs cost £1.21 billion in 2023-24.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC publishes estimates of the costs of tax reliefs in its annual Non-structural tax relief statistics publication.

The last publication on 5 December 2024 showed an estimate and forecast for the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 of £1,210m for the relief “Vehicles and other supplies to disabled people (vehicles only)”. This includes the cost of VAT reliefs for supplies of vehicles to disabled people, including but not limited to Motability.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there have been any changes to the methodology HMRC use to estimate the cost of Motability’s VAT reliefs since 2019-20.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC publishes estimates of the costs of tax reliefs in its annual Non-structural tax relief statistics publication.

The last publication on 5 December 2024 showed an estimate and forecast for the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 of £1,210m for the relief “Vehicles and other supplies to disabled people (vehicles only)”. This includes the cost of VAT reliefs for supplies of vehicles to disabled people, including but not limited to Motability.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will ask HMRC to release a separate estimate of the cost of Motability’s Insurance Premium Tax exemption.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC publishes estimates of the costs of tax reliefs in its annual Non-structural tax relief statistics publication.

The last publication on 5 December 2024 showed an estimate and forecast for the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 of £1,210m for the relief “Vehicles and other supplies to disabled people (vehicles only)”. This includes the cost of VAT reliefs for supplies of vehicles to disabled people, including but not limited to Motability.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will extend the Freedom of Information Act to the Motability scheme.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government has no plans to extend the Freedom of Information Act to the Motability Scheme. The Motability Scheme is delivered by Motability Operations which is an independent commercial company under contract to the Mobility Foundation, a registered charity.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps Veterans UK has taken to provide oversight of the Motability scheme.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Motability Scheme is an independent voluntary initiative that assists disabled individuals in using their War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement (WPMS), or the motability component of Disability Living Allowance to lease or purchase a car or powered wheelchair.

Where vehicle adaptations are necessary due to a disability, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) may offer financial assistance to help cover associated costs.

The MOD provides guidance and support on the Motability Scheme through multiple channels. We ensure that individuals are fully informed about the scheme and other related benefits at every stage of the WPMS process - whether a claim is being considered, submitted, or awarded - so they can explore all available support options.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what specific internal management information Motability shares with his Department.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Motability Foundation is independent of government and regulated by the Charity Commission so is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme.

The Motability Foundation do not routinely share internal Management Information with DWP but will respond to individual requests should the Department request specific Management Information.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Motability customers receive (a) Personal Independence Payment and (b) Disability Living Allowance.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

At the end of July 2025 (latest available data), 593,700 PIP claimants had an active contract with the Motability Scheme.

The number of PIP claimants who had an active contract with the Motability Scheme broken down by condition groups over the past 5 years is provided in the table below.

Table 1: PIP claimants with an active Motability Scheme contract by condition over the past 5 years

The Department does not hold Motability data in its analytical datasets for DLA. Obtaining these data from other sources would involve disproportionate costs.

Notes:

- The figures provided are for PIP claimants in England and Wales only.

- The figures include both claims made under Normal Rules and those made under Special Rules for End of Life.

- The claimants’ primary conditions were used to categorise them in the provided table. Many claimants have two or more health conditions, and it is not necessarily the case that the listed primary condition is that which gives rise to the functional limitation(s) behind the award of the enhanced mobility component of PIP.

- The figures have been provided in calendar years, containing data from January 2020 to July 2025.

- The calendar year 2025 only contains data to July 2025, therefore volumes may be smaller than what would appear within a full calendar year. Data beyond this point is currently unavailable centrally for analysis.

- Values in the table show any PIP claimant with an active Motability Scheme contract on the PIP caseload at some point within that calendar year.

- The “of which any depressive disorder” category is made up of 4 primary conditions:

o Anxiety and depressive disorders – mixed

o Bipolar affective disorder

o Depressive disorder

o Mood disorders – Others / type not known

- Values have been rounded to the nearest 100.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he will take steps to amend the social security payment regulations to enable the direct transfer of (a) Personal Independence Payment and (b) Disability Living Allowance to competitors to Motability.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Motability Foundation is independent of government and regulated by the Charity Commission so is responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme.

The department works closely with Motability and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme. We will continue to ensure the Scheme meets the transport needs of disabled people.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has (a) invoiced Motability for and (b) received from Motability under the Social Security (Expenses of Paying Sums in Relation to Vehicle Hire) Regulations 2016, in each of the years since these regulations were introduced.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

(a) The DWP invoiced the Motability scheme for the following amounts under the Social Security (Expenses of Paying Sums in Relation to Vehicle Hire) Regulations 2016.

Figures rounded to nearest £0.1m.

(b) DWP were fully reimbursed for the amounts above.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the total cost to his Department of the annual mailshot run on behalf of Motability to eligible claimants; and how much Motability contributes to the Department for this mailshot.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP does not undertake an annual mailshot run on behalf of Motability to eligible customers. There is no cost to DWP in this regard.