§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much funding the Government provided to Motability in each year since it was founded, broken down into(a) the equipment fund, (b) the administration fund and (c) any other payments. [146346]
§ Mr. BayleyThe information is as follows:
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Details of funding allocated to Motability since the scheme's inception £000 Mobility equipment fund/drivers fund Administration Other 1977–78 — 12 — 1978–79 — 168 — 1979–80 — 229 — 1980–81 — 290 — 1981–82 — 310 — 1982–83 — 333 — 1983–84 — 336 — 1984–85 — 348 — 1985–86 — 517 — 1986–87 — 660 — 1987–88 — 682 — 1988–89 — 780 — 1989–90 — 516 15,000 1990–91 — 1,112 — 1991–92 1,000 1,797 — 1992–93 1,000 1,835 — 1993–94 2,000 2,085 — 1994–95 3,000 3,940 — 1995–96 3,000 4,069 — 1996–97 3,000 4,488 — 1997–98 3,000 4,646 — 1998–99 3,000 4,646 — 1999–2000 4,000 3,897 — 2000–01 5,700 2,200 — 1 Interest-free loan to establish the Tenth Anniversary Trust
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what extra resources he will make available to Motability as a result of the extension of higher rate mobility to three and four-year-olds. [146358]
§ Mr. BayleyAbout 6,000 children are estimated to gain from the extension of the higher rate Motability component to three and four-year-olds at annual cost of £15 million. They will be able to take the cash benefit or use it to pay for a standard vehicle through the Motability main scheme. Those that require an adapted vehicle will be able to make application to the Motability Equipment Fund (MEF), administered on behalf of the Government by Motability.
From a base of £2 million per annum, an additional £2.4 million was made available to the MEF from 2000–01, and from 2001–02 an extra £1 million per annum is being provided which, with additional contributions from Motability's Tenth Anniversary Trust, is expected to meet overall demand over the next three years.