Motability (Hansard, 16 March 1998)

§ Mr. Burstow
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will make it her policy to ensure that bridging funding is made available to disabled people who have(a) sought a review of a BIP adjudication and (b) appealed against the Adjudication Officer's decision to ensure that they do not lose their Motability vehicle pending the outcome of the review or appeal, respectively. [34486]

§ Mr. Denham
The Benefit Integrity Project aims to ensure that those in receipt of DLA are entitled to it. While it is right to check that people are receiving the correct amount of benefit, we are determined that those checks should be undertaken as sensitively as possible. Also, that we should ensure all decisions taken as a result of the project are right. We have, therefore, acted to introduce an extra safeguard to improve the quality of, and confidence in, benefit decisions made by the Project.
Eligibility for the Motability Scheme is dependent on a claimant being entitled to the higher rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for a period of three years or more.
Officials are currently liaising with Motability to see what can be done to protect Motability customers who are dissatisfied with a decision made, as part of the Benefit Integrity Project, to reduce or remove their entitlement to the mobility component of DLA. There is no provision in legislation for bridging funding to be made available in these or any other circumstances. If an adjudication officer decides, whether as a result of the information gathered as part of the Benefit Integrity Project or not, that a person is no longer entitled to the higher rate of the DLA mobility component, there is no legal basis for leaving benefit payments unchanged.

§ Mr. Burstow
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate her Department has made of the number of DLA claimants who will lose their Motability vehicle as a result of decisions taken as part of the Benefit Integrity Project. [34488]

§ Mr. Denham
The Benefit Integrity Project aims to ensure that those in receipt of DLA are entitled to it. While it is right to check that people are receiving the correct amount of benefit, we are determined that those checks should be undertaken as sensitively as possible. Also, that we should ensure all decisions taken as a result of the project are right. We have, therefore, acted to introduce an extra safeguard to improve the quality of, and confidence in, benefit decisions made by the Project.
Eligibility for the Motability Scheme is dependent on a claimant being entitled to the higher rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for a period of three years or more.
506W
Up to the end of February 1998, nearly 1,100 people with Motability agreements, involved in the Benefit Integrity Project, have had their award of the higher rate mobility component reduced or removed. It is not possible to gauge how many individuals will lose their Motability vehicle as a result of this exercise. Claimants have the right to a review of, and appeal against, an Adjudication Officer's decision to disallow or reduce either or both components of DLA, and assumptions cannot be made as to outcomes. Officials are currently liaising with Motability to see what can be done to protect Motability customers who are dissatisfied with a decision made, as part of the Benefit Integrity Project, to reduce or remove their entitlement to the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA).

§ Mr. Burstow
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many DLA claimants who have been subject to BIP to date have had their Motability vehicle repossessed. [34487]

§ Mr. Denham
Motability is an independent charity and, as such, it is not informed of the reasons why an individual has had their benefit entitlement changed. Motability does, however, record reasons for early terminations of lease hire agreements. The Director of Motability has advised me that, on average, 1,300 people a month seek early termination. This is broken down as follows:

80 per cent. due to death/increasing disability/lack of driver;

15 per cent. due to a different car being required due to worsening disability or a change in the family situation;

5 per cent. due to a reduction in mobility allowance or other financial reason.