Motability boss baggage automotive allowance and payrise as scheme hits £3bn | Politics | News | EUROtoday

The boss of the controversial Motability scheme that handed luxurious vehicles to profit claimants has pocketed a bumper £924,000 pay packet – as the corporate raked in £3billion from taxpayers.

Andrew Miller noticed his wage soar after being handed a £300,000 bonus and a 9 per cent pay rise which pushed his base wage to only over half one million a 12 months.

The fats cat chief govt additionally loved a £21,000 automotive allowance and personal medical care, perks funded partially by a scheme that lets individuals on advantages declare BMWs and Audis.

Mr Miller, who beforehand labored as an govt on the left-wing Guardian newspaper, has seen his pay rocket since taking the highest job at Motability in 2021.

He raked in £748,000 final 12 months earlier than this 12 months’s bumper enhance, a pay rise that has sparked fury as hard-working taxpayers foot the invoice for incapacity claimants to drive model new luxurious motors.

The scheme has triggered nationwide outrage, with critics slamming it for permitting profit claimants to entry costly new automotive fashions whereas working households battle with the price of dwelling.

Last month, Chancellor Rachel Reeves stated she would clamp down on the excesses of the scheme after mounting strain over claimants driving top-of-the-range BMWs and Mercedes-Benz autos.

Motability itself was pressured to pledge it will cease claimants accessing high-end vehicles and encourage the usage of extra British-made fashions as a substitute.

But Mr Miller’s huge pay rise exhibits the gravy practice continues for bosses operating taxpayer-funded schemes, at the same time as ministers declare to be tightening the purse strings.

The firm’s accounts present its revenues climbed by 4.1 per cent to a staggering £7.2billion, with a 23.5 per cent enhance from individuals renting autos alone.

An astonishing 890,000 individuals throughout the UK now use the scheme, that means one in each 5 new vehicles offered in Britain are Motability autos paid for by the taxpayer.

Motability defended the large pay rise to the Daily Telegraph, claiming it mirrored elevated “complexity” in operating the scheme.

Mr Miller beforehand ran the Guardian Media Group (GMG), which owned Autotrader on the time. He served as GMG’s chief monetary officer earlier than changing into chief govt from 2010 to 2015.

He presently additionally sits as a non-executive director at Channel 4.

The fats cat pay packet comes as new forecasts present one in eight individuals within the United Kingdom will likely be claiming incapacity advantages by the tip of the last decade.

Government figures now count on 8.7million Britons will likely be claiming welfare linked to a incapacity by 2030, piling additional strain on taxpayers.

Motability was arrange as a charity in 1977, however right now it’s owned collectively by a consortium of banks, together with Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest.

The firm nonetheless runs as a not-for-profit and lenders don’t take dividends, but Mr Miller enjoys a near-£1million pay packet.

He is one among a number of fats cat chief executives at teams that derive big revenues from the taxpayer.

Mark Wild, HS2 chief govt, is paid £600,000 a 12 months to run the over-budget railway mission.

Anthony Kirby, chief govt of main prisons outsourcer Serco, will get £845,000, whereas Capita – which helps gather the BBC licence price – fingers its chief govt Adolfo Hernandez £700,000 in wage.

Critics have lengthy argued that bosses operating taxpayer-funded schemes shouldn’t be paid non-public sector salaries when their revenues come from the general public purse.

The Motability scheme permits disabled individuals on sure advantages to make use of their mobility allowance to lease a brand new automotive each three years.

While supporters argue it gives important independence for disabled individuals, critics say the scheme has develop into bloated and permits entry to luxurious autos that bizarre taxpayers can not afford.

A Motability Operations spokesperson stated: ”The Motability Scheme’s priority is to continue to connect disabled people to freedom and independence now and in the long term. In recent years, we have reduced costs even as inflation has risen. In the coming years, the Scheme will continue to evolve to manage the recent tax changes which will return £1 billion to the taxpayer, while still ensuring disabled people can remain independent as petrol car production declines. The changes to executive pay reflect the experience needed to lead a large multi-billion-pound company through significant change in an efficient and responsible way to deliver for disabled people and the country.”