Accessible Vehicle and Equipment Scheme Quarterly Meeting minutes: Aug 2024

Attendees and apologies

• David George, Chair, Disability Benefits Reform Team Leader
• Hannah Macleod, Disability Benefits Reform Policy Officer
• Paul Feeney, Disability Benefits Reform Policy Officer
• Shonagh Martin, Disability Benefits Policy Officer
• Sarah Manson, Disability Equality Unit Head
• Norma Mackenzie, Supplier Relationship Manager, Social Security Scotland

Attendees from Motability Foundation and Motability Operations

• Nigel Fletcher, CEO, The Motability Foundation

• Gavin Thomson, Managing Director for Scotland, Motability Operations
• Bernie Cowper, Oversight Manager, the Motability Foundation
• Kenny Morton, Motability Operations
• Jonathon Jenkins, Motability Operations
• Heidi Idle, Head of Marketing and Comms for Scotland, Motability Operations

Apologies

• Andrew Miller, CEO, Motability Operations
• Edward Curwen, Innovation Manager, Motability Operations
• Natalie McCrindle, Head of Procurement and Commercial, Social Security Scotland

Items and actions

Welcome

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

Previous meeting minutes and action point update

The minutes from the previous meeting were agreed and formally approved by the group. 

The following updates were given on the previous actions.

Action 1: Norma to arrange a meeting to conclude on discussions around the invoice.  

Officials confirmed that she met with Motability Operations (MO) and the invoices for both the 2023-24 6-month periods had been raised.  MO noted that they would like more details ahead of the next invoice. Kenny will arrange a discussion with Norma.

New Action 1: Kenny and Norma to hold further discussions ahead of the next invoice. 

Action 2: Officials to reach out to the Just Transition team.

Officials reached out to the Head of Electricity Networks and Regulation on 2 April and subsequently shared relevant information and contact details with MO. This included a link to the Terms of Reference of the Local Electricity Network Coordination Group (LENCG). With the understanding that Scottish Government has no control over how the Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) operate as this is a reserved matter with UK Government, the LENCG advised that they would be happy to escalate should MO or Arnold Clark face further blockers that impact negatively on the ongoing pilots. To inform any action MO should provide specific details on what is perceived to be causing the issue and any prior communication aimed at resolving these.

Action 3: Natalie agreed to look into the support that can be provided on the engagement with Orkney based energy company, ReFLEX.  

Officials connected MO with contacts at ReFLEX. MO colleagues gave a further update on this later in the agenda. 

Action 4: Officials to find out if there are stats available on the number of MO customers that have transferred.

Officials provided an update on this later in the agenda. 

Action 5: Motability Foundation to provide officials with an update on the strategic review. 

Motability Foundation (MF) provided a brief update on this later in the agenda.

Immediate priorities plan for disabled people 

Officials from the Disability Equality team provided an update on the Immediate Priorities Plan for Disabled People. 

Redacted

Following publication of the Immediate Priorities Plan, officials will provide a further update and hold a discussion on how they can work with MO and MF on future phases of the plan. 

MF colleagues highlighted the importance of this work, noting that they want to enable all disabled people to make the journeys that they choose. As part of this work, MF has provided grants of around £12 million to DPOs across Scotland, including a grant to Inclusion Scotland to support people with learning disabilities trying to access public transport.

MO highlighted the importance of supporting their customers through the move to electric and low emission vehicles. 

Both MF and MO offered to share their learning with officials ahead of phase two.

Scottish Government update 

AVE evaluation 

The AVE Evaluation is due to be published soon and officials shared some of the high-level findings with MO. The Evaluation gathered insights from the evaluation completed by The Lines Between, the client survey from Social Security Scotland, and an analysis of statistics. Feedback was given by providers of the scheme (including MO), dealers, members who use the scheme and non-members who are eligible to use the scheme but do not. 

Officials thanked MO for engaging with The Lines Between to provide their own feedback and for putting them in contact with dealers. 

Dealers reported positive experiences of working with MO. They noted the commercial opportunities, appreciated MO’s support, and highlighted the benefits for clients. Dealers also put forward points for improvement. These related to eligibility-checking processes, cases where the end of an individual’s lease and transferring their benefits to Social Security Scotland did not align, and instances where leases have been cancelled. 

Members were satisfied with their experiences of the Scheme and felt it offers value for money while treating clients with dignity, fairness and respect. Outcomes for members included the ability to afford a vehicle or equipment that meets their needs more effectively than alternatives they could access without the Scheme. As a result, members reported enhanced independence and mobility, and improved wellbeing and quality of life. Members generally viewed the Scheme as value for money, but some raised issues around finances, especially the advance payments required for some vehicles.  

Non-members provided insight into their reasons for not using the Scheme; most commonly mentioned was a lack of awareness. However, uncertainty about how to access the Scheme, concerns about affordability, a need to use benefits for other things like bills and living expenses, and a preference for their own vehicle were other barriers described. Just over half (52%) of non-members who responded to the online survey stated they would be interested in using the Scheme in the future. 

Action 2: Officials to let MO know when the Evaluation has been published. 

Redacted

Status of customer transition and support team

MO confirmed that they now have over 5,000 customers on Child Disability Payment and over 33,000 customers on ADP, which means that over 50% of their customers have transferred over to Social Security Scotland. 

Motability Operations update

MO colleagues highlighted that they now have over 800,000 customers on the Scheme across the UK, with 80,000 of those customers in Scotland. They currently have 88,000 cars in the order bank, around 45% of which are from new customers. Previously, new customers made up around 30% of customers. 

The AVE scheme has grown around 13% compared to the previous 4 to 5% growth. In the first half of this year, Motability Scheme have over 20% of the new car market. MO also currently hold a significant position in the used car market. 

From an operational perspective, MO and its partners are handling their growth well.  However, it has created an issue with funding because they are buying more new cars for new customers who do not have a used car that can be sold. MO generated £2 billion in debt at the beginning of the year and have had to generate a further £2 billion in July. MO are looking at alternative sources of funding that can be used if the current rate of growth continues. 

MO have been looking improve the capacity and efficiency of dealerships through digital transformation. MO also updated the SG on the challenges they have been experiencing around sourcing parts from some manufacturers, with waiting times of up to 12 months.

The global vehicle market has had disruption recently that is leading to challenges for all car hire and leasing companies, including MO. The primary challenge is the move to Electric Vehicles (EVs), which is creating an unpredictable market, impacting the residual values of vehicles and impacting how manufacturers price their vehicles. Additionally, the cost to repair and replace parts for EVs is much higher than a standard petrol car, which is leading to higher insurance costs. This is now around £600 per car. 

Around 55% of customers do not have home charging available, however a number of them are still leasing EVs. MO will be focusing on how they support customers through the transition to EVs, especially for those who do not have access to home charging and have no appetite to move to an EV.

The New Vehicle Payment (NVP) will stop at the end of this year as MO only committed to this payment for a limited time. As a result of this and the challenges highlighted, Advance Payments (APs) will be increasing. There are currently over 70 cars available in Scotland with no AP, and, with the £750 NVP, there are currently over 200 cars available with no deposit. MO colleagues confirmed that the end of the NVP will likely have an impact on growth, however they are considering how they can reduce costs for customers and stretch affordability.

Redacted

MO confirmed that their communications team has extensive communications planned on the end of the NVP. Dealerships are already aware of the changes and there is already information on the website. Officials suggested that MO write to Scottish Ministers to make them aware of the changes and what MO are doing to reduce prices and absorb costs. MO agreed to take this forward. 

MO has begun a transformation programme for their services to identify ways of driving efficiency and improve customer experience through data and insights. They will consider how they can get people back in their cars quicker after repairs are required, improve their ways of working with dealerships and create a more efficient and effective process. 

Action 3: MO to write to Scottish Ministers to provide them with an update on the changes to the NVP. 

Scotland Operational update 

An update paper was provided in advance to officials outlining a summary of management information for Scotland. 

MO colleagues confirmed that around 33% of eligible disability benefit recipients have a Motability vehicle, which is slightly above the UK average. EVs represents 6% of the Scottish car fleet, which is slightly lower than the UK average of 7.5%. Around 50% of customers go for a car with no AP or an AP of less than £750. There are now 10 EVs available that have a long-range and a low AP. 

Colleagues highlighted that customer satisfaction has been very good following the nationwide introduction of improvements that were trialled in 2023. One of these improvements was the introduction of RAC ‘orange wheel’ to all KwikFit centres to keep customers mobile in their own vehicle even if the required tyre sizes are not immediately available. KwikFit Mobile vans can also now attend customer’s homes if this is more convenient for the customer than scheduling a Kwikfit centre visit or towing the vehicle to be repaired.

MO is becoming a more significant net employer within Scotland as they now have over 10% of MO staff based in Scotland. 

Motability One Big Day event briefing

The next Motability One Big Day event will take place from Friday 13 to Saturday 14 September. The theme is ‘setting the pace in Scotland’s EV transition’. There will be over 70 cars, Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) and adaptations on display, as well as 35 scooters and powered wheelchairs. There will also be a range of car manufacturers, WAV convertors, scheme partners and other exhibitors. MO are expecting over 60 attendees. MO had invited some Cabinet Ministers but apologies were received due to other commitments.

MO colleagues also highlighted an EV customer focus group that will take place at this event. MO is currently interviewing customers to identify 8 to 10 participants who are either already EV users or are considering an EV. The session will focus on the customer’s experiences with EV, the barriers they face, their worries about the EV transition, and what could be done to improve this for them.

Colleagues also highlighted MOs participation in the EV Rally of Scotland (EVROS). The team will complete the North Coast 500 route in an electric WAV. This will demonstrate the abilities of EVs and the charging infrastructure and showcase the WAVs ability to drive long distances on rural routes. There are 11 teams participating including Arnold Clark, Scottish Water, and Scottish Power. 

Charging innovation update

MO gave a presentation on their continuing innovation work on on-street charging. As the number of customers leasing an EV grows, MO want to ensure that customers who do not have access to home chargers will not be left behind. 

All but two local authorities (LAs) have signed up to NEVIS, a platform that holds data on where MO customers are by fuel type broken down by Data Zones. MO is using this tool to encourage LAs to provide EV charge points to the areas that need it most. 

MO has partnered with Arnold Clark to offer customers bookable charging through Arnold Clark Charge sites. Customers with no home charging have discounted access to these facilities and will have support from workers while they are there. An initial pilot resulted in mixed reviews, however 80% of participants confirmed that they use public charging regularly.  

MO now has 1,000 customers who will begin using these charging facilities, 30% of whom do not have a home charger. This will help MO gather data such as whether the discount encourages people to use the facilities, whether they book in advance, and how far they’re travelling for the chargers.

The Arnold Clark charge points are currently operating on a closed scheme, but MO would like all of their customers to have access to these facilities. They would also like these charge points to be available through the MO App.

MO are also working with Scottish councils to explore cross pavement solutions through pilots led and funded by MO. Uptake from councils remains low, as only two have participated so far. MO has been working with Transport Scotland to get more engagement from LAs. 

MO will soon be putting cable gullies in the ground in East Lothian. MO has been given approval to place 50 of these. They have also started developing their own cross pavement solution following feedback on five existing cross pavement solutions, which found that none of them were fully accessible and suitable for all.

MO updated on their engagement with the Orkney based energy company, ReFLEX. They highlighted that EVs are not necessarily inaccessible in rural places as homes are more likely to be suitable for home chargers. Through discussion with ReFLEX, MO has found that one of the main barriers for rural places such as Orkney is that customers cannot order their vehicle remotely. This could be mitigated by setting up a process that allows customers to test drive a car near them, rather than having to travel to a MO dealership. ReFLEX has also set up a community enterprise that has an efficient process for getting cars on and off the island for repairs. MO colleagues will be traveling to Orkney in September to learn more about ReFLEX’s process with the aim of setting this up in other rural areas. 

Motability Foundation update

Nigel Fletcher introduced himself as the new CEO of MF. He provided an update on the work of MF. 

Under the new strategy, the overall aims and purpose of MF will not change. MF continue to provide grants to individuals and organisations to support people accessing the Motability scheme and other transport. 
MF has a scheme oversight committee which continues to monitor the performance of the scheme, and they have identified a number of areas that they will work on in collaboration with MO. This includes the ongoing transition to EV, the recent growth of the AVE scheme, the pricing of vehicles on the scheme, and the financial performance of MO. 

MF has also been working with Transport Scotland on PAS 1899, the Accessible Charging standard. 

MF has partnered with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to exchange expertise on accessible transport innovation and develop transport and journey planning technology across the UK, particularly in rural areas. MF also fund the National Centre for Accessible Transport. This has been running for one year so far and they will be working together to progress a number of projects. 

MF has provided grants to individuals based in Scotland worth £6.4 million over the last year. They have given substantial grants to Enable Scotland, and Transport Scotland as well as a large sum to Whizz Kidz. The WAV and driving lesson programmes have also seen significant growth. There has been a 200% increase in grants given to disabled people trying to access driving lessons. 

Officials asked whether MF has had any early discussions with the UK Government about the work they’re doing to support disabled people. MF confirmed that they jointly responded with MO both publicly and privately to the UK Government Green Paper and they offered to share relevant sections of their private response with officials. MF are meeting with key DWP officials next week, including the Director responsible for the Green Paper. They are keen to work with the UK Government to find sustainable and affordable solutions to amplify people’s benefits. 

Any other business and close

Engagement with MACS 

MACS members have agreed to set up a meeting with MO in the coming months. MO are keen to engage with MACS. MACS members have also been invited to the Motability One Big Day Event. 

Governance proposal 

MO colleagues thanked officials for their input into the Governance Proposal. They will provide a more substantial update on this at a future meeting. 

Status of new product deployment: manual wheelchairs, power add ons and segways

MO colleagues confirmed that there has been some interest in this however, there has been no take up so far. MO are holding a meeting to understand why this is and what can be done to spread more awareness of these products. A further update on this will be provided at the next quarterly meeting. 

Officials confirmed that Paul Feeney will be MO’s new point of contact as Hannah Macleod moves into a new role in Scottish Government. Officials and MO/MF colleagues thanked Hannah for her continuous support with the AVE Scheme work. 

No other business was raised. The chair formally closed the meeting, and a further meeting date will be confirmed.