Rachel Reeves has declared she "can't leave welfare untouched" as potential November cuts loom on the horizon. The Labour Chancellor is reportedly considering sweeping changes to the widely-used Motability scheme in her upcoming Autumn Budget.
According to The Times, the Chancellor may axe tax breaks by scrapping an exemption that allows cars leased through the scheme to avoid VAT and Insurance Premium Tax (IPT). A further proposed alteration could see premium manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes stripped from the Motability programme entirely.
"We can't leave welfare untouched," she declared to Channel 4 News when questioned about benefit system modifications, reports Birmingham Live. We can't get to the end of this parliamentary session and I've basically done nothing ... We have to do reform in the right way and take people with us."
The benefits facing the axe include tightening eligibility requirements for Motability vehicles, abolishing the VAT and insurance premium tax exemption, and excluding luxury marques. James Taylor, strategy director at disability charity Scope, warned the measures could "heap extra costs on to disabled people all over Britain".
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"Motability is a cost-effective way for disabled people to be able to use adapted cars. Often these cars need to be able to accommodate equipment, carers, and disability related aids," he explained.
"Life costs more if you are disabled. Energy and day-to-day living costs remain stubbornly high across the board. The government shouldn't be looking to ramp up costs on disabled people. They could leave more disabled people isolated, and less able to get into work."
Emma Vogelmann, the co-chief executive of the disability group Transport for All, commented: "As disabled people we often find public transport is unusable - broken pavements, nonexistent bus routes, and packed stations we can't navigate. A Motability car changes that - it allows us to work, shop, and do the school run. Scaling back the scheme would lock disabled people away from daily life. Does the chancellor want to take away our freedom?".
Rachael Maskell, a Labour MP who was one of the strongest critics of the government's abandoned disability cuts, stated that the "government must adopt a process of co-production [involving disabled people] and then follow the evidence ... Random top-slicing or cuts often cost more in the long run".
A Treasury spokesperson responded: "We do not comment on speculation around changes to tax outside of fiscal events."