Accessible Vehicle and Equipment Scheme quarterly meeting minutes April 2023

Attendees and apologies

Attendees from the Scottish Government 

• David George (Chair), Disability Benefits Policy Team Leader, Scottish Government

• Gordon Dawson, Product Owner, Common Processes and Delivery Team
• Margaret Grigor, Service Manager, Scottish Government
• Hannah Gascoigne, Policy Officer, Scottish Government
• Shonagh Martin. Policy Officer, Scottish Government
• Natalie McCrindle, Head of Procurement & Commercial
• Keith Miller, Product Lead, Common Processes and Delivery Team

Attendees from Motability Charity and Motability Operations

• Bernie Cowper, Motability 
• Barry Le Grys, Motability
• Ian Goswell, Motability Operations 
• Kate Hallward, Motability 
• Andrew Miller, CEO, Motability Operations
• Michelle Vellacott, Motability Operations

Apologies

• Nikola Plunkett (Scottish Government) 

Items and actions

Welcome

The Chair, David George welcomed members to the sixth Accessible Vehicle and Equipment (AVE) Scheme quarterly meeting.

Approval of previous meeting minutes and update on action points

The Chair and members approved the minutes of the previous meeting. It was agreed that all previous action points could be closed and there were no further comments.

Policy update 

Hannah Gascoigne introduced the item and confirmed that all attendees received the background paper, which included updates on:

• recent Parliamentary Questions lodged in relation to the AVE Scheme
• Social Security Scotland statistics for Child Disability Payment (CDP) and Adult Disability Payment (ADP)
• recent engagement with the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS). 

Hannah Gascoigne invited the group to comment. 

Barry Le’ Grys asked who now has Ministerial responsibility for Social Security given the recent Cabinet reshuffle. Hannah Gascoigne confirmed that Shirley-Anne Somerville is the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, and she will have full responsibility for the Social Security portfolio. Motability would be happy to meet with the new Cabinet Secretary to discuss the AVE Scheme. 

Barry Le’ Grys also asked whether there were any upcoming changes to the mobility component in light of the ADP consultation. David George confirmed that right now they remain committed to the safe and secure transfer of cases. The Independent Review of ADP will begin later this year and the current consultation on the mobility component will feed into this. The consultation makes clear that any potential changes must be achievable, affordable and realistic. The consultation closes on the 25 April 2023. Officials will provide Motability with an update on this at a future meeting. 

In the background paper it noted that SG officials have received correspondence from a Member of MACS and the Convener regarding long wait times for repairs, particularly with regards to Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs), highlighting one example of a wait of more than three weeks for a repair to a vehicle. Barry Le’ Grys advised officials of a mistake in MACS correspondence - Proximo provide replacement vehicles, rather than repair vehicles. Michelle Vellacott advised that a loss of use payment had been made to the client concerned and she has been provided with a replacement vehicle. Loss of use payments are paid when an individual is not provided with a solution such as a repair to their current vehicle, a replacement vehicle or another form of transport. 

Action 1: Scottish Government officials to provide an update on the consultation on the mobility component. 

Update on AVE Accreditation Scheme

Hannah Gascoigne gave an update that the AVE Scheme opened to additional suppliers to apply for accreditation between 16 January 2023 and 24 February 2023. 

REDACTED

Action 2: Scottish Government officials to provide an update on the recent accreditation round as soon as possible. 

Update on AVE Scheme Contract change notice

Barry Le’ Grys reiterated that as the AVE Scheme rules have been updated for the recent accreditation round, there is some wording in the contract between Motability,  Motability Operations and the Scottish Government that they would like to be reviewed and potentially altered. For example, the reaction times in relation to repair and recovery on the road. Officials agreed to pick this up with Motability colleagues in due course.  

Officials agreed to have an internal discussion on the changes required in the contract. 

Action 3: Officials to meet with Motability and Motability Operations colleagues to discuss any potential changes to their contract. 

Action 4: Officials to have an internal discussion with Social Security Scotland colleagues on any changes required in the contract. 

Motability Operations update

Andrew Miller gave an update on some of the current challenges facing Motability Operations. Andrew also did a presentation covering the AVE Scheme activity in Scotland over the last quarter. Officials found this useful and suggested it may be helpful for Ministers to see this as well. 

The market for supply of cars is improving meaning customers have a better choice of cars, and affordability is improving. However, there are long term supply issues of Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) meaning these are becoming more expensive. Motability Operations are running initiatives to try and unlock more supply and support customers who rely on WAVs. The used car market has not reduced yet and because the prices of used cars are high, Motability Operation’s profits will continue to be high. They are considering how they can redeploy these profits to support customers with the high prices of vehicles. 

Andrew Miller spoke of the challenges of updating Motability Operation’s fleet with electric vehicles. As electric cars are more expensive than petrol or diesel cars and many of Motability Operations clients have lower incomes this makes transitioning to electric vehicles challenging. Motability Operations are working with manufacturers and putting part of their surplus towards bridging the gap to electric cars. Natalie McCrindle asked whether the scheme incentivises customers to go for a hybrid or electric car. Motability Operations confirmed that people are given a range of choice and they can make their own decision on the type of vehicle they pick. However, they are conscious of the 2030 deadline and there are some challenges that they are facing as a result of this – these being the cost of charging electric vehicles and the affordability of an electrical vehicle for people on low incomes. They are currently subsidising this as much as possible, for example, they are installing charging points worth £1,000 free of charge for clients who choose electric cars. However, this is going to become more difficult as more people move over to electric. Motability Operations are working to try and increase their supply of electric vehicles and reduce the costs of these for customers. 

Gordon Dawson mentioned that minutes he had seen from a Ministerial visit to Motability’s Edinburgh Office, suggested that Motability uses just one electric vehicle home charger provider, a Norwegian company called Easee. He asked why this was the case as electric companies often limit which electric vehicle chargers can be installed.  Andrew Miller confirmed that they use two providers and that information on them can be found on their website. There are no long-term contracts in place currently as this is under constant review. Motability colleagues are meeting to discuss ways to improve the process for getting an electric charger installed as the current process to do this is long. They are currently installing charging points for their clients who choose electric vehicles free of charge and are considering how to assist disabled people that don’t have a driveway or suitable charging area to install one, as publicly available chargers are significantly more expensive. For example, they are looking into giving people who can’t install a charger, vouchers which they can spend on electricity from public chargers.  

Andrew Miller stated that Motability Operations have given £1.5 billion back to their customers. The new vehicle payment is offsetting higher Advanced Payments that people are paying for vehicles. They have had a record number of orders and the scheme is growing 2% for applications. 

There are some concerns around the capacity of the repair network as there are a higher number of cars being repaired due to people holding onto their cars for longer. Motability Operations are spending £90 million per year to keep people mobile while their cars are being repaired. 

Motability Operations are moving insurance provider – from RSA to Direct Line Group (DLG). Officials asked whether customers on the AVE Scheme would receive any communications about this or if customers would move over to the DLG as their leases renew. Motability confirmed that the official change over date is 31 August. RSA have responsibility for resolving any claims until midnight on that date. After that DLG will have responsibility for all policies. Motability intend for the changeover to be as seamless as possible and customers and key stakeholders will receive comprehensive communications ahead of time. As a result of the change, customers will have access to digital services making it easier to manage their policy and their claims online.  

Motability Charity update

Motability shared a background paper with the group ahead of the meeting. 

They noted that since providing this background paper, they have written to the Minster for Transport requesting to meet. The Minister is keen to meet, and they intend to discuss infrastructure and the transition to electric vehicles. 

Motability will provide an update on this at a later date. 

Action 5: Motability to provide an update on their meeting with the Minister for Transport. 

Any other business and close

Margaret Grigor confirmed that the AVE Scheme is now in the transition phase moving from the Programme Division to Social Security Scotland. They are still discussing the finer details of the transition. The day-to-day operations of the AVE Scheme will be the responsibility of client services and operational colleagues. Officials will work with Motability Operations colleagues to ensure they have relevant contacts so that the transition doesn’t impact business continuity. Officials will also help Motability Operations colleagues build up new relationships by inviting relevant people along to their weekly meeting. Motability Operations colleagues offered to visit Social Security Scotland to spend time with the teams and help them understand what Motability do. 

Action 6: Officials to invite relevant stakeholders to their weekly catch ups with Motability Operations. 

The next meeting will be held in June 2023 at:

Motability Operations
Forthstone
56 S Gyle Crescent
Edinburgh
EH12 9EB 

Action 7: Officials to arrange date for the next AVE Quarterly meeting.