Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Motability Operations Ltd about reducing the environmental impact and embodied carbon of the Motability scheme.

The Department works closely with Motability Foundation and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme. Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations.

Motability is leading on work to ensure that disabled people’s needs are understood and supported as the transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs) continues. Motability Foundation has commissioned research into EV design to understand the challenges that disabled people may face in using them and has conducted extensive research to understand the barriers disabled people face when using EVs charge points. Working in partnership with the UK Government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles, the British Standards Institution was commissioned to develop a national accessible charging standard for EVs charge points. To assist their customers, a charge point is fitted as part of a Motability lease, and for customers unable to have a charge point they receive a subscription to one of the public charging networks.