Reform announce welfare crackdown on claimants getting BMWs | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Reform UK has introduced plans to finish abuse of the incapacity advantages system that sees these on welfare get cut-price luxurious vehicles like BMWs and Mercedes. The Motability scheme, which was arrange in 1987 to offer automotive financing to these on incapacity advantages, has quickly develop into an instance of an out-of-control advantages system.

The scheme now accounts for multiple in 5 new vehicles offered in Britain, with these qualifying for the improved fee of PIP capable of get main cost-saving reductions on luxurious motors. Cases have included individuals qualifying for Motability due to illnesses together with constipation, tennis elbow, and ADHD, with practically 90% of all vehicles handed out by the scheme not being tailored for any incapacity. While Rachel Reeves had been reportedly taking a look at saving as much as £1 billion of taxpayers’ money by scrapping tax breaks on Motability vehicles, it was reported yesterday that she has now deserted this plan.

However Reform politicians Lee Anderson and Zia Yusuf at this time advised the Daily Express they may crack down on the scheme taking British taxpayers for a trip. Mr Anderson, the celebration’s welfare spokesman, mentioned Motability has acquired “completely out of hand”.

“One in five new cars on the road now are a Motability car. I know people through doing this job and working at the Citizens Advice Bureau before that will claim the higher rate of PIP for a family member, and that family member will never get to use that car apart from maybe once or twice a year.

“They go to the hospital in the car and the rest of the time their family are driving about in a brand new BMW on their drive. It’s not fair!”

Mr Anderson additionally known as out the Chief Executive of Motability, whose take-home wage is a whopping £421,000 a 12 months.

The Ashfield MP requested: “Where’s that money coming from? It’s supposed to be a charity. It’s an absolute scandal the Motability scheme. I remember back in the day if you were on disability and you wanted a car from the state it was a blue three wheeler.

“What’s wrong with that? Let’s go back to that.”

This morning Reform outlined plans to end the abuse of the welfare system by ruling out a number of eligibility criteria for PIP, especially for young people signing onto benefits for non-serious mental health conditions such as anxiety.

Speaking in Westminster this morning, Mr Anderson set out there are now 1.4 million people claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for some sort of mental health disorder, a third of which are for various forms of anxiety disorders.

He explained: “The symptoms of these disorders can include persistent worrying, sadness, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and changes in sleep or appetite.

“Now who in this room hasn’t suffered from any of the above symptoms. ‘Persistent sadness’? Tell me about it.

“I’ve had persistent sadness since July last year with this awful Labour government, and over the next four years there’ll be many more people having persistent sadness and wanting to put a claim in for PIP!”

Reform’s Zia Yusuf warned that there has now been an “enormous growth in PIP payments”, which now account for 1% of the UK’s whole GDP.

Much of this has been pushed by post-Covid claims for psychological well being situations, which Reform mentioned is “betraying young people” who’re “being labelled and tossed onto a scrap heap for the rest of their lives.”

Monthly new PIP claims for underneath 25s have already tripled, because the variety of younger individuals on out-of-work illness advantages climbs by 50% in simply 5 years.

However that is set to surge additional over coming years, rising from £25 billion this 12 months to £34 billion by 2029.

Reform mentioned their modifications to the system would stop this rise in prices, saving £9 billion a 12 months by the tip of the last decade, and £30 billion over the next 5 years.

Motability was approached for remark.