Motability Eligibility : Am I Eligible for the Motability Scheme?
The Motability Scheme is a flexible and affordable way for people with a disability to stay mobile. With access to brand-new models and vehicle adaptations, the Motability Scheme provides motorists with a comfortable and reliable form of transport and, at Bentleys, we are here to make the application process as simple as possible.
Before test driving one of our brand-new Toyota or Citroën Motability vehicles and making an application, it is important to check that you’re eligible. The Scheme is only available to people receiving certain allowances in order to ensure the right people receive the assistance they need. You may be eligible if you currently receive one of the allowances listed below.
- Higher Rate Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance (HRMC DLA)
- Enhanced Rate Mobility Component of the Personal Independence Payment (ERMC PIP)
- War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement (WPMS)
- Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP)
Many people associate mobility issues with with physical, visible disabilities such as needing to use a wheelchair. But these aren’t the only people who have difficulty getting around and receive a mobility allowance—hidden disabilities such as cognitive conditions can also seriously affect movement.
Hidden disabilities may be increasingly common, but public understanding is not rising at the same rate. According to recent figures, roughly one in six people have a disability of one kind or another, while one in four people will be affected by mental health issues.
People with invisible disabilities can also have difficulty getting around.
An ageing population means more people will suffer from disabilities that cannot always be seen - from chronic pain and fatigue to hearing or vision impairment. And that’s before you consider the brain injuries that also qualify as invisible disabilities.
Public transport is one area where the people with hidden disabilities can have difficulties. While the Motability Scheme makes this task significantly easier, making independent travel more accessible for disabled customers and their carers and families, society as a whole isn’t always as sympathetic. Apart from having to navigate non-disabled people who might not be so understanding of their condition, people with hidden disabilities also have to deal with other, more practical challenges.
Each case is unique, but it’s common that many sufferers will have anxiety, memory problems, an inability to process and retain information, and inability to plan and execute those plans as a route of where they need to go. Put all those things together and if you ask that person to then get on a bus to get to where they need to go, it becomes a big challenge.
The Motability Scheme has made getting around and gaining independence easier for disabled people for a long time and its importance should not be underestimated. It’s easier, safer and often more cost efficient to use the Motability Scheme than to have to struggle on public transport.
You may be eligible for a badge if one or more of the following applies:
- you cannot walk at all
- you cannot walk without help from someone else or using mobility aids
- you find walking very difficult due to pain, breathlessness or the time it takes
- walking is dangerous to your health and safety
- you have a terminal illness, which means you cannot walk or find walking very difficult and have a DS1500 form
- you have a severe disability in both arms and drive regularly, but cannot operate pay-and-display parking machines
- you have a child under the age of 3 with a medical condition that means the child always needs to be accompanied by bulky medical equipment
- you have a child under the age of 3 with a medical condition that means the child must always be kept near a vehicle in case they need emergency medical treatment
- you are constantly a significant risk to yourself or others near vehicles, in traffic or car parks
- you struggle severely to plan or follow a journey
- you find it difficult or impossible to control your actions and lack awareness of the impact you could have on others
- you regularly have intense and overwhelming responses to situations causing temporary loss of behavioural control
- you frequently become extremely anxious or fearful of public/open spaces
How the Motability Scheme can help you
Numerous studies down the years have shown travel to have numerous health benefits, from increasing your happiness and managing stress to generally keeping you healthier. This only applies if the travel is comfortable, of course, and this is where the Motability Scheme comes in.
Leading an independent life benefits people socially, physically and psychologically.
The Motability Scheme aims to help those with limited mobility and their families - regardless of their disability - by allowing them to use their mobility allowance to lease a car. Many people think that the Scheme only provides adapted cars for physically disabled people, however the vast majority of leases are for standard cars without adaptations that are used by many customers with hidden disabilities.
It’s important to remember that the Department for Work and Pensions sets the criteria for qualifying for mobility allowance, rather than the Scheme itself, but if you do qualify, you can find out more about joining the Motability Scheme by requesting a free information pack.
Motability restrictions
Please note that only the Enhanced Rate or Higher Rate of the mobility allowance can be used to lease a car through the Motability Scheme. You cannot use the Attendance Allowance to fund your vehicle. While there is no upper age limit to becoming a Scheme user and two other named drivers can be eligible to drive your Motability car, you must be due to receive at least 12 months’ more payments to be accepted.
Understanding disability
While many people associate mobility issues with physical disabilities that are easy to see, hidden disabilities including mental health issues are also common. Those with invisible disabilities may also have difficulties getting around and the Motability Scheme could help if you receive the relevant mobility allowance.
Get in touch
Contact us today for more information about Motability Scheme eligibility. At Bentleys, we are dedicated to making all applications hassle-free with our Motability team on hand to help answer all eligibility questions.