Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the vehicles available within the Motability scheme on the cost of wheelchair accessible and adapted vehicles.

The Motability Scheme is a lifeline for disabled people in the UK, leasing cars, wheelchair accessible vehicles, scooters and powered wheelchairs in exchange for part or all of their qualifying mobility allowance. The Scheme will continue to offer a choice of vehicles to meet a range of accessibility needs and the Motability Foundation will continue to offer means-tested grants to support eligible people who would otherwise struggle to afford the advance payment or adaptations for a vehicle, or a wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) through the Scheme. The changes announced at Budget about VAT relief do not apply to wheelchair adapted vehicles.

Motability Operations, an independent commercial company which delivers the Scheme, will continue to prioritise customer needs, ensuring vehicles remain affordable and that support for wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs) and specialist adaptations remain at the heart of the Scheme.

Eligibility for enhanced mobility Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which provides the main gateway to the Scheme, assesses the mobility needs arising from a health condition or disability rather than the disability or health condition itself.