Changes to motability rules

[andypandy]

Hi there

As some of you may know, Motability are bringing in changes that named drivers have to be over 21 and live within 5 miles of the owner of the Motability car.

I have written to Motability and because I employ carers via Social Services and therefore have an open policy these changes will not apply to me.

To be able to get an Open Policy you need to write to Motability and give them details of your personal circumstances and then this will be considered.

I think these new rules are outrageous and so much so my local MP is dealing with the matter so are Disability Cornwall, my local support group.

If these changes are going to affect you please please contact your local MP and write to Motability

[Paul]

Well Done AP, glad it's all sorted for you

[Stepheninleeds]

What is the point of bringing in a rule if people can be exempt? I would hope many would want to be exempt, & thankfully it seems they have an option. It just seems daft to have the new rule if you can get such an exemption.

[Lighttouch]

What is the point of bringing in a rule if people can be exempt? I would hope many would want to be exempt, & thankfully it seems they have an option. It just seems daft to have the new rule if you can get such an exemption.

Hi Stephen,

Any company has to have rules or policies as a guideline for the masses to save paperwork, staffing etc.

A few vunerable people will be caught out and the rules will be seen to be discriminating or giving rise to poverty perhaps.

Companies can look at each case individually and decide if it's in their own interests to bend the rules - why? Well from a Public Relations point of view they value their image and reputation. They don't want unhappy customers going to the press smearing their reputation - it's bad for business!

From their point of view it's less harmfuL and enhances their reputation to be seen to be 'merciful'. Word of mouth can work in their favour or against it if they were to be inflexible with their rules.

[andypandy]

Thanks for replying for me LT, saved me a job there :-)

and just to add Stephen, not everyone can be exempt from this new change

[Stepheninleeds]

Well shall see. My point is that many will want & need to be exempt, so the rule will fail in that sense. Assuming they can claim exemption.

[reverence]

A short analysis of the effects of the "five mile limitation
CARE SERVICES PROVIDED BY LOCAL AUTHORITY
The Care Manager(employed by the County Council) for the disabled lady I drive for, had no knowledge of this new policy, and as such could not begin to comprehend a solution. In fact the manager totally understood how impossible it could be for her to assist, as to comply with these rules she would need to provide the address of the paid for carer that was willing to take over in my place; this is in order to prove the paid for carer lived within five miles.
Now as the carers are supplied under a sub contract from the local District Council, it is more than likely it would contravene the Data Protection Act; this also relies upon the fact that the carers asked to drive in my place actually live within five miles, and that is a fact nobody knows at present. It could be they don’t have any employees living within five miles of the customer.
Then the next hurdle would be to get the “selected” address declared driver, to sign a declaration as per this policy. So can you see a low paid employee of a sub contractor doing this?
CONTRACTS OF EMPLOYMENT
On a separate level, it in away becomes a restrictive practise in that any EMPLOYED carer who drives one of these vehicles NOW has terms applied to their contract of employment if they drive the patient in a Motability vehicle; so does this give the disabled person grounds to instantly dismiss an existing employed carer on the grounds they do not live within the “five mile rule “and cannot now fulfil their duties, even though the employee has fulfilled all their duties in the past.
Then is it allowable to then only stipulate in the terms and condition of a recruitment policy that only those that live within five miles are eligible to apply. After all the only current employment legislation applicable is the right to work in the UK, Age discrimination, & Sex discrimination, finally CRB check. So this creates another nanny state rule on top of these rules.
FINDING 30,000 VOLUNTEERS
Also lets not loose sight of the fact that it is hard enough to recruit “volunteers” for any task(the number affected by this new rule calculated by Motability in writting to me); I should know as I ran a Volunteer Bureau. So to now in effect suggest an alternative is for the disabled to recruit 30,000 volunteers to replace the ones they are banning is just incomprehensible- good luck & if they succeed they had better take over all the volunteering in the UK; maybe they have not noticed how loud David Cameron has been banging the drum of the “inclusive society” recently to little effect. All a case of smoke and mirrors.
NHS NON ESSENTIAL PATENT TRANSPORT SERVICES
Following this policy to the end conclusion the disabled would need to contact their General Practitioner to be certified as needing “Non Emergency Patient Transport”(NEPT) in order to get a vehicle provided to take them to their Hospital appointment and any other medical appointment. Next the local Primary Care Trust will have to pay for the Ambulance that will be needed to transport the disabled person since Motability are not only banning drivers, BUT also suggesting the removal of the vehicles (see their letter).
I therefore contacted the Manager of Non Emergency Patient Transport at one of the hospitals I drive the lady to; this Manager also had not heard of this new policy and has now put it on the agenda to be discussed on a national level. For this policy is one of those logarithmic blunders, in that the driver is band, so an ambulance is now needed on many occasions tying up vehicles and drivers with possibly assistants. So in some areas it could mean more ambulances need to be bought and maintained, and insured, and replaced. More drivers recruited, trained,supplied with a uniform and finally CRB checked. After this there will need to be more hospital porters to wheel the patients. But don't forget it could mean more admin staff are needed to run the increased demand on the NEPT service.
DON’T FORGET THE DISABLED PATIENT IS A HUMAN BEING
Finally let’s not lose sight of all the distress this is causing the disabled lady, who is in effect house bound, she is sitting there wondering how she can recruit a driver in my place from her armchair where she spends her day or her specially adapted bed she uses, accessed by a chairlift. Well done they lost sight of the human being , so much so that the lady is giving up.
FOOD FOR THE WORMS, I bet the CEO of Motability on a remuneration package of £1.17m (as reported by The Daily Mail) sleeps easy in his luxury home, or on holiday in some warm exotic location whilst she frets away?
But as I said no response from the minister, this is going to get a bit like the Immigration policy fiasco blame someone else but do nothing.
An added thought in my mind is how this became policy without the Care Managers, or NEPT Managers knowing a single thing, surely there is a duty to consult first before bringing in the policy ; or is this all how a Not for Profit/Charity can now operate including paying unbelievable amounts to its operating officer.(Not for Profit operate under entirely different rules and have exclusions from full reporting-study ACPO as an example)

In the meantime I still have not heard from"the minister for the disabled. But I have heard from the shadow minister. It would appear the minister is not interested and says it is entirely a matter for Motability.

[phaedra]

I'm going to have to ring them about this tomorrow, got my renewal pack for next Feb and a letter today about the changes and driver form to send back.

My second driver lives 8 miles away, there's nobody else I can use, none of my children can drive and I have no other family, only other person I could ask is an ex in-law who lives 18 miles away and is in his 70s!.

[Caladave]

My son, who is my only named driver now lives 13 miles away. He drives my mobility car 4 times per year when I have to travel to a hospital in a neighbouring county for spinal epidurals and I am not allowed to drive afterwards. That is the only times he has driven the car and now I am told that from January he will not be allowed to do this anymore. Seems rediculous to me, what difference does it make whether he lives 4 or 13 miles from me. It will appear that I will have to have a taxi about £35 each way.

[Stepheninleeds]

You can apply to am exemption to this. Hopefully they will take into account your situation.