I already feel judged for having a Motability car - the Budget didn't help

Young disabled people have reacted angrily to the first significant changes to the Motability scheme made since it was launched nearly 50 years ago.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in the Budget that tax will be charged on the insurance included in a Motability lease, and VAT added to the advanced payments put down on higher-value cars.

The chancellor said it was time to "reduce generous taxpayer subsidies" to the scheme, which allows eligible disabled people to lease vehicles that can be adapted to their needs.

Motability has said any increase in the cost of a lease "could have a significant effect on disabled people's independence and daily life".

The number of people with a Motability car has increased sharply in recent years, to 860,000.

That rising demand is a result of more people successfully claiming the higher-rate mobility component of benefits like Personal Independence Payment (PIP), non-means tested benefits designed to help with the greater travel costs experienced by disabled people.

Teenager River-James Whybrow says he often feels "judged" for having a Motability car.

The 18-year-old is autistic, has ADHD and a condition that affects his joints, leaving him regularly in pain.

He says people have directly challenged him before on why he is eligible for a car on the scheme.

"If you want my car, then have my disabilities as well," he says, adding that he just wants "the same opportunities as anyone else".

River-James cannot drive himself, but says having the car means his support worker can take him out and give him "access to the world".

He says he is angry about the decision to remove the tax breaks for the scheme, adding that the people making the changes "aren't living it".

"If they knew what it was like, day in, day out, they might not be making those decisions," he says.

His frustration is shared by 21-year-old Maxwell McKnight, who leases a wheelchair-adapted van that allows him to get to university, to work and to see his girlfriend.

"Without it, I basically sit at home," he says.

"I get comments online saying, 'Why are we paying for this person's car?'

"People aren't paying for my car - there's no understanding."

Although a heavily-adapted vehicle like Maxwell's will not be subject to the new VAT charge on an upfront fee, he says phrases like "generous taxpayer subsidies" contribute to people misunderstanding how the scheme works.

"It's shown like disabled people live off benefits, when we don't," he says.

Cat Whitehouse, co-chief executive of the disability charity Transport for All, says the removal of the scheme's tax breaks will "leave our community facing hefty charges that will lock us out of society".

But critics say the extra-cost benefit that makes customers eligible for Motability is increasingly being awarded for conditions that were not meant to qualify for mobility support.

Matt Ryder, who used to work on Motability policy for the Department for Work and Pensions, says the focus should be on suppressing the number of people becoming eligible for the scheme, by reforming how mental health conditions are assessed for the PIP mobility component.

"You should not be able to get a Motability car with mental health issues," he says.

"The policy intent was clear."

The scheme made the headlines the day before the Budget, with the announcement that Motability customers will no longer be able to choose "premium" brands like a BMW or Mercedes.

Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, Reeves said the Motability scheme was "set up to protect the most vulnerable, not to subsidise the lease on a Mercedes-Benz".

The scheme has been under intense scrutiny in recent months, with critics arguing that the tax reliefs on the scheme were excessive and outdated.

The Treasury hinted heavily that changes would be made, but Reeves shied away from the more drastic option of scrapping VAT exemptions on the whole scheme entirely.

Motability has suggested to the BBC that they would not have "survived" that step if it was taken.

A government spokesperson said: "Motability customers will still be able to lease a car with just their qualifying disability benefit, as there will still be cars available through the scheme which require no advance payment.

"As well as ensuring disabled people can access vehicles, we're also committed to reforming Motability and saving the taxpayer £1bn over five years."