Accessible Vehicles Scheme: disability benefits evaluation

Introduction

Policy Background

The devolved social security benefits represent an ambitious agenda for changing the benefit support that is made available to the people of Scotland. This evaluation is part of a wider programme of work evaluating the policy impact of the devolution of disability benefits.

Social security policy evaluations are one source of evidence that show the contribution of benefits to delivering on the wider Social Security Principles and wider government objectives, particularly the effectiveness of policymaking processes, and whether social security has been an investment in people, helped to reduce poverty, and brought value for money.

In Scotland, the Accessible Vehicles and Equipment (AVE) Scheme is replacing the Motability Scheme which provides vehicles and equipment for people receiving Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) disability benefits. The AVE Scheme enables people who receive the higher rate mobility component of Child Disability Payment (CDP) or the enhanced rate mobility component of Adult Disability Payment (ADP) from Social Security Scotland to use this component of their benefit payments to lease an accessible vehicle or mobility equipment, such as:

• cars
• wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAV)
• powered wheelchairs or scooters (PWS)
• e-bikes

Eligible new applicants for CDP and ADP are offered the opportunity to sign up to the AVE Scheme. Eligible individuals, whose payments transferred from DWP to Child Disability Payment or Adult Disability Payment with a vehicle or equipment retain it until the end of their lease, or are offered to sign up to the AVE Scheme if they are not currently leasing a vehicle or equipment.

Providers who supply the vehicles and equipment must apply for accreditation under the AVE Scheme to the Scottish Government. Providers may choose to deliver their services through a network of dealerships, based in local communities, rather than providing showrooms or maintenance services directly. A requirement of accreditation is that providers offer features such as breakdown cover or insurance, they can offer this through third parties or may do so themselves. In all cases, the provider ensures that these services are all included as part of a single price.

There are a number of policy commitments for the AVE Scheme which represent the improvements to the AVE Scheme from the original Motability Scheme that would be expected to be seen as the policy becomes established:

• Individuals have a choice about what provider they choose to go with under the AVE Scheme.
• Individuals can choose an accredited provider who meets their mobility needs.
• Individuals who currently have a lease with Motability will not lose their vehicle now the AVE Scheme has begun and will continue to enjoy the same standards of service.
• No individual will be subject to a credit check to access a vehicle, powered wheelchair, scooter, or e-bike.
• Individuals will pay no more than their weekly mobility component to lease a vehicle or equipment.
• Individuals can choose to pay an advance payment to lease specific vehicles or equipment that meet their needs or choose from a range of vehicles with no advance payment.
• Additional providers will have the opportunity to join the Scheme at regular intervals.
• All providers will be required to offer the same high standards of service.
• We will make communications about the AVE Scheme as simple and as clear as possible and tell clients about how to access the AVE Scheme.

Evaluation Aims

The Scottish Government published its approach to evaluating the devolution of disability benefits in October 2021. Taking a thematic approach across the key areas of policy change, the overarching aim of the evaluation programme is to understand how the disability benefits have been implemented and what effects this has had, for whom and why.

Policy impact evaluations involve the systematic assessment of a government policy's design, implementation, and outcomes. In the context of social security, this involves understanding how a benefit or aspects of the benefit are being implemented and what effects it has had, for whom, and why, as well as whether its implementation and delivery are in line with the policy and meet the policy intent. These evaluations provide insight into how benefits are contributing to Social Security Scotland principles and wider Scottish Government objectives.

This evaluation focuses on the AVE Scheme and aims to explore the extent to which the policy commitments have been met.

The AVE Scheme is designed for a discrete purpose, and is a form of passported assistance, meaning that access to the Scheme is determined through entitlement to particular disability benefits. Unlike the other policies included in this wider evaluation work, the AVE Scheme is not linked directly to the delivery of the three main types of Disability Assistance, and clients may have limited interaction with Social Security Scotland when accessing this form of assistance.

A key aim of the evaluation is to understand clients' experiences of the Scheme; what is working well and what can be improved, and the relevant impacts. Another key aim is understanding the experiences of providers when they are considering applying to become accredited or going through the process of applying itself.

The research therefore aims to address the following overarching objectives:

• to understand whether clients', and providers' experiences of the AVE Scheme are in line with policy commitments
• to understand progress towards the short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes of the AVE Scheme
• to understand how the Scheme can be improved for clients and providers in order to ensure that the policy commitments are being implemented as intended

Within these overarching research objectives, the evaluation will explicitly focus on understanding the experiences of four main groups:

• CDP and ADP clients who are members of the AVE Scheme
• Eligible CDP and ADP clients who are not members of the Scheme
• Providers who provide vehicles or equipment (both those who have applied for accreditation and those who have not), and dealers who work with Motability Operations to deliver the AVE Scheme and to support AVE Scheme members in sourcing appropriate equipment and vehicles

Report Structure

This report is structured around the short-, medium- and long-term outcomes of the AVE Scheme, as described in the logic model. A description of the methodology underpinning the evaluation is provided in the next chapter. The report ends with an overview of the key findings alongside recommendations and observations.