Cameron mocks the disabled

Mick,

Thank you for clarifying that the individual with the Blue Badge is not necessarily also claiming DLA. I apologise that my lack of understanding here has caused offence to you and others. However, I was under the impression that higher priced vehicles were available through Motability if the individual contributed some of his own cash upfront  (eg a £2999 advance payment to Motability at the start of the lease would enable someone with the Higher Rate Mobility Component of the DLA to get a BMW X1 2.0 TD SUV Sport, which would otherwise cost around £30,000).

Contrary to what you might think, I am not a 'Tory Boy' but I am a retired person living on a modest pension which is being whittled back by the abolition of age-related tax allowances. Unfortunately the country is in a mess and as we have all seen, there seems to be no escape from cut-backs. 

Glad thats sorted then!!

Edward.  It is possible to get a higher price car with an advance payment.  It is rare as the £2999 becomes "lost" money.  You still only get a 3 year lease, then hand the car back, and no refund.

There is another major reason why its rare. Disabled people who claim benefits often have a very low income and would not be able to spend £2999 on an advance lease.

I would repeat that a wealthy person could buy the £60000 BMW, then get a blue badge.  Therfore when you see a badge do not assume benefits are paying for the car !

As a car scheme I would say that it is good and disabled people are helped.  Then comes the bad side.  Benefits are given for care, try living on it !  If benefits were not given then many disabled people could not stay in their home.  If they have to go to a care home then that could cost the state hundreds £ per week.  Benefits are care on the cheap !  A full time carer looking after a relative gets about £55 per week, great wages ! 

Mick, I think you misunderstand my views. The purpose of state benefits is to allow all people who cannot work, for whatever reason, to live adequately and with dignity. My information about Motability comes directly from their website, and until recently, it was indeed possible to get a £60,000 vehicle for an additional prepayment of around £10,000 and commuting the higher rate mobility component of the DLA (which is not means-tested, so a disabled millionaire who qualifies for DLA can get a tax-payer subsidised BMW). The abuse of the system by some wealthy people has resulted in a cap now being applied, and the example of the £30,000 BMW I quoted in my previous post is about the maximum someone can now get from Motability. As to handing the car back after 3 years, this is true, but you can then get another brand-new car, and if you so wish, get a luxury vehicle with another prepayment. I don't know another deal where you can lease a BMW for £2999 over three years (I accept that a person in this situation has to be in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of DLA to qualify).

As you said previously, Motability is a charity, but receives many millions of pounds of taxpayer funding in addition to what it receives in commutated DLA funds. I am not arguing against someone such as yourself and your wife getting a modest hatchback or wheelchair-adapted vehicle on Motability - it is the excessive examples we see, especially in affluent towns in the south of England, which sometimes surprises people, as do the stories of people living in Kensington town-houses on housing benefit. It is a legacy of the lunacy embraced by Gordon Brown (Who ? Where ?) which still lingers on. 

You may also be surprised to learn that I am not a great fan of either David Cameron or Ed Milliband, who have reduced Prime Minister's Questions to an unseemly Punch-and-Judy show.    

Perhaps we should not forget that my original post, which unintentionally caused such outrage, was addressed to Linda-Mary wishing her well with the sale of her book, and offering some sympathy to her situation in the States, where benefits are far less generous than here in England. 

I know Mick and I are on opposite sides of the fence politically, but I welcome rational and informed discussion on these matters. There is plenty of information available on the UK Government website and on the Motability website for people to draw their own conclusions. Finally, I say again that I recognise the need for benefits and support to enable anyone who genuinely needs support to live adequately and with dignity.

I am not going to comment further, since I think the argument with Mick will go on for ever.

Yes we are getting above our station.  Lets return to th good of days of putting the disabled in a circus side show.  If fed a bowl of gruel of day what more could they want.  

You ignore the fact that the car is sold on the used market after 3 years, that plus the DLA pays for it. Never mind, why replace axe grinding with facts.  

We will give you a car, money, this life of great riches, provided you take the disability - its a package deal.  Any takers ? 

For those interested in the extent of abuse of the Motability Scheme, I have copied the extract in italics from the Motability website. My own experience is that most people will know at least one case of this abuse personally, and this abuse is in danger of spoiling the reputation of the scheme for the deserving cases. 

We are unable to accept copied material Edward. You can put a link to the relevent extract if you wish.

Thank you, Ron, I was simply trying to put in some objective facts to counteract  Mick Smith's blatantly ad hominem posts.

My original post which caused upset was merely stating that disability provision is far better in the UK than in the United States. This discussion is in danger of running off down a rabbit-hole which I did not expect. Obviously no one wants to suffer disability, but as anyone can see from the financial data, the Motability scheme is far more generous than what is provided in many other countries.

The assets of Motability are 4.2 billion pounds with an annual turnover of 2.5 billion pounds. This is all taxpayers money. The number of users are 600,000 - much larger than in any other European country with a similar scheme. Motability does a lot of good to improve the lifestyle of disabled people, but sadly a small minority of people do abuse it. This is recognised by Lord Stirling in the report which can be found at the link below.

 http://www.motability.co.uk/main.cfm?type=NIA&Objectid=2778

Regarding Motability,Disablement it is a subject i try to avoid -please dont get me wrong on this subject but reading the above posts it looks like the main posters have done their homework on this topic.

I have no problem regarding people receiving benefits --the genuine ones i mean -it is the scroungers and abusers that should be targeted.

I have paid taxes for 44 years and can not claim any relief on anything,yet the chap who lives 3 doors away who has never worked for 30 yrs gets everything, mobility car,tax-paid, insurance paid,free service,tyres all he has to pay for is petrol----he plays golf,3 days per week --i could go on  --it is these people who are spoiling it for the genuine disabled.